#784 Milt Wilcox
The 32 year old Milt Wilcox, though not the ace of the Tigers staff in '82, was good for a 3.62 ERA and 1.5 WAR.
He was pretty consistent along the way, with a 6-5 home record, a 6-5 road record, a 6-5 record in the first half of the season, and 6-5 after the break. His ERA before the All-Star break was 3.62, and after the break it was 3.63. Even by month, his ERA was 3-something every month except one.
Something Sparky probably liked even better than the consistency, was that Milt was doin' his job great against the best teams in the division (Milwaukee, Baltimore, and Boston), going 5-3 on the strength of a 3.49 ERA. Detroit was only 9-22 against those three teams when Milt wasn't pitching.
Even the Royals, who were a 90 win team in the AL West, had their troubles hitting Milt Wilcox in 1982. On April 20th, he tosses a 1 hit shutout against them. Later in the summer, he throws another 5 shutout innings against them.
That means that against four of the elite American League clubs that season, Milt Wilcox posted a 2.90 ERA and went 7-3 (.700) with just 1 no decision. That's really really good. What makes those number even crazier, is that when it wasn't 1982, his numbers against these same four clubs were downright awful— 4.79 ERA, 23-38 (.377), and 30 no decisions.
It was just that kind of rare season. He was consistent as they come, but also out of whack with his career stats, and somehow managed to beat some of the league's best lineups....that couldn't normally beat.
The next season, Milt Wilcox would nearly throw a perfect game on April 15 against the White Sox. He only had to get 1 more out, when pinch hitter Jerry Hairston singled to center.
Not long after that, Milt's skills began a slow fade off into the sunset. Maybe they were already fading in '82, but after that season his ERA fell below average for the rest of his career. Even in 1984 when he won 17 games and helped lead the Tigers to a World Championship, his ERA was a fat 4.00.
He eventually wound up in Seattle, finishing his career as he finished the June 12, 1986 game for the Mariners against the White Sox. Ironically, the last batter he faced in his career and the last batter he got out, was Jerry Hairston.
