After spending more than six years in prison and time in a halfway house, former Detroit Tigers great Denny McLain is finally a free man as of last Tuesday, Local 4's Roger Weber reported.

Video

Denny McLain Talks To Local 4

McLain, 59, told Local 4 he has a lot of life ahead of him, and this time, he plans to live it differently.

It's been 30 years since McLain threw his last pitch at Tiger Stadium. In 1968, he won 31 games and was awarded the Cy Young and league MVP awards.

But the former Tiger hero has also engaged in some villainous activity over the years, Local 4 reported.

In 1970, McLain was suspended for gambling. He declared bankruptcy twice -- once in 1970 and once in 1977. And, McLain was convicted of racketeering in 1984.

But it was in 1997 when the former Tiger great may have reached his lowest point. A jury convicted McLain and his business partner of stealing $3 million from a pension fund.

The two men had purchased the struggling Peet Packing Company in Chesaning, Mich., and soon after they closed the company's doors on 200 workers, Local 4 reported.

"I don't know how you convince them that you're sorry," McLain said. "We did not buy Peet Packing with the intention of shutting it down and going to jail."

McLain still insists that he was wrongly convicted, Local 4 reported.

"The pension money has been all repaid," said McLain.

Local 4 learned that the workers were collecting full pensions -- some of the money being replaced by McLain's baseball pension, and the larger remaining chunk repaid by a bank that had improperly transferred the money.

Local 4's Weber asked McLain why he has had so much trouble with the law.

Weber: It just seems that Denny McLain and trouble have gone hand in hand for so many years. Why is that?

McLain: I don't have the answer. I've had a lot of ups, had a lot of good times in my life and we've had a few bumps in the road.

McLain had recently been working at a 7-Eleven store in Sterling Heights as part of a work-release program while he finished his sentence at the halfway house.

He told Local 4 he's now interested in landing a job in radio.

"It's going to be some time. I have some obstacles to overcome, but with the grace of God and one day at a time, hopefully something good will happen soon," McLain said.