Today the sad news came that Hall of Famer Al Kaline, a 22-year member of the Detroit Tigers, has died at the age of 85. According to Tony Paul of the Detroit News (who spoke to a family friend), Kaline recently suffered a stroke before he passed away today at his home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Kaline, a beloved figure in Michigan, spent his entire professional baseball career in the Motor City, going straight from Southern High School in Baltimore to the Tigers. The man known as Mr. Tiger, Kaline made his Major League Baseball debut at the age of 18 in June 1953 (at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia) and played his final game at age 39 in October 1974 in Detroit.
Cooperstown Cred: Al Kaline (RF)
- Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980 (1st year on the ballot, 88.3% of the vote)
- Detroit Tigers (1953-74)
- Career: .297 BA, .376 OBP, .480 SLG, 399 HR, 1,582 RBI, 3,007 Hits
- Career: 134 adjusted OPS+, 92.8 WAR (Wins Above Replacement)
- Named to 18 All-Star teams in 15 different seasons
- 10-time A.L. Gold Glove Award winner
- Led the A.L. in putouts 5 times and in assists 3 times
- 9 times in top 10 of A.L. MVP voting (runner-up in 1955 and 1963)
- Won World Series in 1968 (.379/.400/.655, 2 HR, 8 RBI)
(cover photo: Detroit Free Press)
Al Kaline was a superb hitter and marvelous right fielder; his fielding prowess was recognized with 10 Gold Gloves. He might have won 2 or 3 more were it not for the fact that the award wasn’t issued until 1957. He made the first of his 18 All-Star squads in 1955 and his last in 1973, his final campaign. The 18 appearances occurred in 15 different seasons (from 1959-62 the Mid-Summer Classic was played twice per season). In ’55, his second full season in baseball, Kaline led the A.L. with 200 hits, 321 total bases and a .340 batting average. He barely finished second to Yogi Berra in the MVP balloting.
In 1968, Kaline finally got the opportunity to play in the World Series as the team made its first Fall Classic appearance since 1945. The ’68 Tigers were a powerhouse squad, led by catcher Bill Freehan, first baseman Norm Cash, left fielder Willie Horton and 31-game winner Denny McLain. Detroit won 103 games to capture the final A.L. pennant race before expansion divided the leagues into two divisions each. Ironically, it was in ’68 that Kaline missed his first All-Star Game since 1954, his absence due to a broken arm that caused him to miss six weeks of action.
In the World Series, thanks to 3 complete game victories from Mickey Lolich (the last one in which he out-dueled Hall of Famer Bob Gibson), the Tigers prevailed in 7 games over the St. Louis Cardinals. Kaline helped the Tigers to their series win by posting a 1.055 OPS with 2 HR and 8 RBI.
Late in his final campaign, in his 8th to last game, Kaline stroked his 3,000 career hit (he finished with 3,007). The 400 home run mark eluded him, however, as he finished with 399 after going homer-less in his final 12 contests.
Shortly after his final campaign, Kaline was honored as the third recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award, which recognizes the player who “best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team.” (The first two recipients were Willie Mays and Brooks Robinson). In many ways, Kaline’s career mirrored Clemente’s: they were both great hitters and terrific fielders who played right field for industrial cities on the East Coast. Each spent their entire career in those cities, with Clemente having spent all 18 of his MLB seasons in Pittsburgh.
In 1980, Al Kaline was a first ballot selection for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. He went in with 88.3% of the vote and was just the 15th first-ballot inductee in the 45 year-history of the Hall. At the time, being a first-ballot inductee put Kaline in a class with the game’s true legends (listed in reverse order of induction): Mays, Ernie Banks, Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax, Warren Spahn, Stan Musial, Ted Williams, Jackie Robinson, Bob Feller, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, and another longtime Tiger, Ty Cobb. (Lou Gehrig and Clemente were inducted in special elections).
In his post-playing years, Kaline remained a consistent presence with the Tigers. He spent over two decades in the TV booth providing commentary on Tigers games and became a special assistant to General Manager Dave Dombrowski in 2002. He was Mr. Tiger for his entire adult life; Hall of Fame writer Jayson Stark Tweeted that one of his favorite things about spring training trips to Lakeland, Florida was to walk into the Tigers’ clubhouse and see Kaline in full uniform all the way until his 80’s.
For more on Al Kaline’s legacy, I invite you to enjoy this terrific piece from John Lowe in the Detroit Free Press.
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