Cubs 365, March 24

Every day in 2012, the Just One Bad Century blog will feature a story about this day in Cubs history. We're calling it Cubs 365.

On this day in 1968, the Cubs released a Monster. Dick Radatz was power-pitching reliever, and a former fireman of the year. His towering presence and 95-mile-per-hour fastball made him baseball's most dominant relief pitcher in the mid-1960s and earned him the unforgettable nickname of "The Monster" when he was with the Red Sox.

He also pitched for Cleveland, but by the time the Indians sent him to the Cubs, he didn't have much left. He had lost the movement on his fastball, tried to become a finesse pitcher, and just couldn't do it. His ERA with the Cubs was 6.56. He pitched one season for them in '67, and was released before the season in 1968.

The Tigers claimed him, but during their World Championship season that year, Radatz wasn't good enough to make the big league club. He got his last taste of the big leagues the following year with Detroit and Montreal, before hanging it up for good at the end of 1969.