Denny McLain’s 1969 Cy Young award is for sale

It’s not too often you get a chance to own a legitimate piece of history, but for the next four days you have an opportunity to bid on just that. It would appear that former Tigers ace Denny McLain, who won back-to-back Cy Young awards in 1968 and 1969, is selling one of his two trophies.

McClain’s 1969 Cy Young, awarded following a season in which he had a 2.80 ERA, 3.05 FIP, and 1.092 is up for auction at Lelands. The award is not being sold by McLain himself, but rather a collector of Tigers memorabilia who got it from McLain originally.

According to the Lelands listing:

ORIGINAL Cy Young Award. Not a duplicate; this is the REAL THING. Has historical precedence. Never before offered for sale. Denny McLain won his first Cy Young Award in 1968, going 31-6 with a 1.96 ERA and leading the Tigers to the pennant and a World Series victory. McLain was part of such great major league pitching in 1968 that baseball made new rules: lowering the mound from 15” to 10” and shrinking the strike zone. Even within these tougher pitching parameters, McLain had another stellar season in 1969. Although the Tigers didn’t make it back to the World Series, McLain went 24-9, with a 2.80 ERA, completing 23 of 41 starts, amassing 181 strikeouts in an enormous 325 innings.

While McLain’s 1968 season was without a doubt the best of his career (and one of the best a Tigers pitcher has ever had), owning his 1969 award would also be incredible.

Anyone have a spare $9000 laying around?

Image courtesy of Lelands

If you’re interested in reading more of the listing, or placing a bid, you can go to the Lelands auction listing here.