page_title: John Hiller
section_title: 1976 to 1980 seasons
hierarchical_section_title: John Hiller / Detroit Tigers / 1976 to 1980 seasons
caption_attribution_description: English: Baseball postcard, circa 1911, Hooks Dauss
context_page_description: John Frederick Hiller is a Canadian former baseball relief pitcher who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers between 1965 and 1980. A native of Toronto, he joined the Tigers in 1965 and was a member of the 1968 Detroit Tigers team that won the World Series. He set a major league record by starting a game with six consecutive strikeouts in 1968.
  In January 1971, Hiller suffered a heart attack and underwent intestinal surgery to control his body's absorption of cholesterol. After missing the 1971 season, Hiller returned in 1972, helping the Tigers win the American League East title and winning Game 4 of the 1972 AL Championship Series. In 1973, he compiled a 1.44 earned run average and broke the major league single-season saves record with 38. The Sporting News awarded Hiller its 1973 Comeback Player of the Year and Fireman of the Year awards.
  In 1974, Hiller set an AL record with 17 relief wins and was selected as a member of the All-Star team. He continued to rank among the AL's elite relief pitchers through the 1978 season. He retired from playing in May 1980 with a career win–loss record of 87–76, a 2.83 career ERA, and 1,036 strikeouts.
context_section_description: In 1976, Hiller returned to the Tigers' spring training with a shaved head. Sports writers joked that Hiller's head was as smooth as his delivery and compared the new look to Fu Manchu or "a cross between Genghis Khan and Kojak."  Hiller got off to a slow start in the early weeks of the 1976 season, holding a 1–3 record and a 3.47 ERA in late May. However, he then regained his form and won 11 of 15 decisions for the balance of the season; his 2.38 ERA was on par with the 2.34 ERA recorded by the team's rookie sensation Mark Fidrych, who won the 1976 Rookie of the Year award. Hiller ranked fourth in the American League in games finished (46) and ninth in both adjusted pitching runs and adjusted pitching wins. He closed the 1976 season with a rare start (his first since 1972) and threw a four-hit, complete-game shutout against the Milwaukee Brewers.
  In April 1977, the Tigers traded Willie Horton to the Texas Rangers for relief pitcher Steve Foucault. Foucault edged out Hiller as the Tigers' stopper, as Hiller was asked to pitch both in relief and as a spot starter. He started eight games and threw three complete games. However, his ERA jumped by more than a point to 3.56, and he compiled a record of 8–14 with only seven saves. In late September 1977, doctors diagnosed Hiller with an enlarged liver, possibly caused by the intestinal surgery he received after his heart attack; doctors advised that he should never have another drink for the rest of his life.
  Hiller reclaimed his role as the Tigers' closer in 1978.  He appeared in 51 games, all in relief, and his total of 46 games finished ranked sixth in the American League.  He led the 1978 Tigers with a 2.34 ERA and 15 saves. The Tigers honored Hiller on June 25, 1978, with a John Hiller Recognition Day at Tiger Stadium.
  In 1979, Hiller had 43 relief appearances, but Aurelio Lopez (acquired in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals before the season began) took over as the Tigers' closer as Hiller's ERA soared to 5.22. Hiller played with pain in his left shoulder during the 1979 season, and his season ended on August 27 when he was placed on the disabled list. Hiller believed that he injured his shoulder in mid-May while "messing around trying to throw a screwball."
  Hiller returned to the Tigers briefly in 1980, just long enough to break Hooks Dauss' franchise record of 538 games pitched. Hiller broke Dauss' record on April 29 and ended his career having appeared in 545 games as a Tiger. He was the last member of Detroit's 1968 World Series championship team to remain with the club. During the 1970s, Hiller appeared in 426 games for the Tigers, nearly double the total of any other Detroit pitcher.
  On May 30, 1980, after finishing a clubhouse card game with teammates, Hiller called a team meeting and announced that he was retiring. The Tigers interrupted the game that night to announce Hiller's decision.  Hiller stepped out of the dugout in street clothes and waved to the crowd.  The crowd reacted with polite applause at the surprise announcement and then began chanting, "We want Hiller! We want Hiller!" until the game was interrupted to allow Hiller to step onto the field for a final bow. Hiller told reporters after the game: "I just don't think I can compete here anymore. . . . I don't want to embarrass myself. I always said the hitters would let me know when it was time to retire, and they did."
  
  After his retirement, the Detroit Free Press paid tribute to Hiller, not on its sports page but on its editorial page: 
  "[W]hat sets the John Hiller story apart is neither the professional skill nor the personal grace and style that were his in such an abundant measure. Detroiters have a special affection for Hiller for what he had to overcome and for the dogged persistence with which he fought his way back from a heart attack. By will and discipline, he made himself a fit professional athlete again. He overcame."
  Hiller ended his career with a record of 87–76, a 2.83 ERA, 545 appearances, and 1,036 strikeouts in 1,242 innings pitched. At the time of his retirement, his 125 saves r
caption: Hiller broke Hooks Dauss' team record of 538 games pitched.
exif: {"Image Make": "HP", "Image Model": "HP oj6300", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ReferenceBlackWhite": "[0, 255, 128, 255, 128, 255]", "Image ExifOffset": "132", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2007:04:22 13:36:48", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1700", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2338", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF DeviceSettingDescription": "[1, 0, 19, 0, 32, 32, 32, 48, 65, 48, 32, 32, 32, 55, 65, 48, 32, 32, 32, 56, ... ]"}