[msb-alumni] Al Kaline Dies at 85 on April 6, 2020 -- collected articles
- From: Steve <pipeguy920@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 7 Apr 2020 18:31:24 -0400
BlankKaline Dies at 85 on April 6, 2020
Wow! This is really a big loss, such a true Tiger. I remember his son Mark
used to
be a sports anchor at WILX, channel 10, here in Lansing in the 1980's.
I remember my Dad and I tried to meet him at a Seattle Mariners game, but he
wouldn't
talk to us -- but Ernie came down. I got mentioned along with my employer,
because I
gave him my business card because we didn't have an extra piece of paper to
write our
names down for him.
I also remember later Dad and I drove to a satellite dish dealer in Spokane and
got
them to bring up the Tigers broadcast so we could watch George Kell and Al
Kaline.
Steve
Class of '72
Al Kaline dies at 85 on April 6, 2020
DETROIT -- Al Kaline, one of the most beloved players ever to wear the Detroit
Tigers
uniform, died on Monday. He was 85. Tigers general manager Al Avila confirmed
the
news to MLive Media Group. Kaline's death was first reported by the Detroit
Free
Press.
The Baltimore native made his debut with the Tigers in 1953 as a fresh-faced
18-year-old without having played a single game in the minor leagues. He would
play
for the club for the next 22 seasons .
Dubbed "Mr. Tiger," Kaline hit more home runs -- 399 -- than any Tiger in club
history and his 3,007 hits are second only to Ty Cobb .
Kaline was an All-Star in 13 consecutive years beginning in 1955, when he hit
.340
and became the youngest player to win the American League batting title. His
All-Star
streak was snapped in 1968, but Kaline's consolation was his only World Series
championship of his career.
As a defender, he was considered among the game's best, winning 10 Gold Gloves
as he
patrolled right field in Tiger Stadium.
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1980, Kaline
remained active with the Tigers after his playing career. He served as a
television
commentator on team broadcasts for 17 years and later was an adviser to the
general
managers Dave Dombrowski and Al Avila.
Kaline continued to be active well into his 80s, suiting up and taking the
field at
times during spring training. He was a popular presence in the clubhouse --
even
around young players born long after his career was over.
"Such a kind and generous man who meant so much to so many," wrote former
Tigers
pitcher Justin Verlander , who is likely to join Kaline in the Hall of Fame
after his
playing career. "I hope you knew how much I enjoyed our conversations about
baseball,
life, or just giving each other a hard time. I am honored to have been able to
call
you my friend for all these years."
Kaline is survived by his wife, Madge Louise Hamilton, who he married in 1954
and
sons Mark and Michael.
More coming soon...
*****
Sports Celebrities React to Kaline's Death
DETROIT -- It didn't take long for the sports world to react and remember Al
Kaline
after the news made the rounds that the man known as "Mr. Tiger" died on
Monday.
Kaline was 85. Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila confirmed the news to
MLive
after the Detroit Free Press first reported it. Related: Tigers legend Al
Kaline dies
at age 85 Former Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander tweeted a heartfelt message
about
Kaline shortly after his death was reported. "Such a kind and generous man who
meant
so much to so many," Verlander wrote. "I hope you knew how much I enjoyed our
conversations about baseball, life, or just giving each other a hard time. I am
honored to have been able to call you my friend for all these years. "R.I.P. Mr
Tiger, Al Kaline. Kaline, a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee in 1980, got his
start
with the team in 1953 and never left. He went on to hold down right field for
22
seasons in Detroit, and then another 17 years as a commentator for the Tigers.
If
that wasn't enough to earn his nickname, Kaline also served as an adviser for
Avila
and former Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski. "We've lost an icon," fellow
Tigers legend Alan Trammell told the Detroit News . "He will always be Mr.
Tiger. On
the field, Kaline was an 18-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glove winner, won the
1955
batting title (.340), and was a vital member of the 1968 World Series
champions. He
retired after just crossing the 3,000-hit threshold and only one long ball shy
of 400
home runs. "People ask me, was it my goal to play in the majors for 20 years?
Kaline
is quoted as saying on his Baseball Hall of Fame profile. "Was it my goal to
get
3,000 hits someday? Lord knows I didn't have any goals. I tell them: 'My only
desire
was to be a baseball player. Headlines from around the country: Kurkjian: Late
HOFer
Al Kaline could do everything on the diamond -- ESPN Baltimore Native, Detroit
Tigers
Great Al Kaline Dies At Age 85 -- CBS Baltimore MLB players react to the death
of
Tigers legend Al Kaline -- CBS Sports This section will continue to update
Social
media reaction: He was the only fielder who could make the ball come to him.
Goodbye,
#6. #AlKaline - Jeff Daniels (@Jeff_Daniels) April 6, 2020 R.I.P. Al Kaline.
Mr.
Tiger had the kind of career we are not likely to ever see again. Signed by the
Tigers the day after he graduated high school, he went right to the big
leagues.
Never played in the minors or for any other MLB team. https://t.co/HW3WmSXA7t - ;
Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) April 6, 2020 Al Kaline played 2,834 games
in
professional baseball. All 2,834 were for the Tigers. Zero in the Minor
Leagues. Zero
for another organization. https://t.co/66ZFX204uk - Andrew Simon ;
(@AndrewSimonMLB)
April 6, 2020 Al Kaline was such a nice man, and I cherish every moment I spent
through the years listening to him tell stories. RIP. Here's what I wrote about
him
in the Baseball 100. https://t.co/TqfmWPcVV6 - Joe Posnanski ;(@JPosnanski)
April 6,
2020 Al Kaline was one of my first interviews when I was an intern at
@wxyzdetroit .
I remember being so intimidated because of all I've heard about him from my
parents &
grandparents. However, all my nerves disappeared right when we started talking
because he was so warm & kind. https://t.co/DEYZIGzRMV - Jeanna Trotman ;
(@JeannaTrotmanTV) April 6, 2020 Al Kaline, a baseball legend and the nicest
Hall of
Famer you could imagine. RIP - Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) April 6, 2020 Al Kaline
was
one of the best who ever played. Never a day in the minors. Won the batting
title at
age 20. Al Kaline passed away today at the age of 85. https://t.co/Tk0EJm2N5I - ;
NBC
Sports (@NBCSports) April 6, 2020 We've lost Mr. Tiger, Al Kaline, who seemed
as if
he was Detroit's eternal sports presence. Last saw him a month ago at spring
training. He clearly was weakening, which was not comprehensible. - Lynn G.
Henning
(@Lynn_Henning) April 6, 2020 I have very rarely asked for a photograph with
anyone
but several years ago I made an exception for my childhood favorite player.
Such a
gentle and giving man. The great Al Kaline. pic.twitter.com/sukCdpXj9f - Pedro
Gomez
(@pedrogomezESPN) April 6, 2020 Always enjoyed chatting with Al Kaline when the
Astros visited Detroit; here's Al with @SteveSparks37 in 2014. What a
gentleman, & so
knowledgeable about the game. May also be the most unassuming & humble
superstar
athlete I've ever met. RIP Mr. Tiger. pic.twitter.com/DMALabP4y6 - Robert Ford
(@raford3) April 6, 2020 One of my most prized possessions. @tigers legend Al
Kaline.
RIP. #AlKaline pic.twitter.com/vaJXflw26z - Terry McFadden (@TMcFaddenWNDU)
April 6,
2020 So sad to hear about the passing of Al Kaline. He was a legend on and off
the
field. Through his 22 seasons with the team, he brought joy to generations of
Tigers
fans across our state as he worked his way into the 3,000 club. Farewell, Mr.
Tiger.
https://t.co/OVj83SgyMA - Governor Gretchen Whitmer ;(@GovWhitmer) April 6, 2020
Such
sad news. He was a lovely, funny man who happened to be an exceptional
ballplayer
#RIP https://t.co/xyuAihR8od - Keith Olbermann ;(@KeithOlbermann) April 6, 2020
Feeling incredible sadness after the reported passing of Al Kaline. Always took
time
to share a smile and story over the years I've known him. One of greatest
Detroit
athletes of all time. RIP. - Matt Shepard (@ShepMatt) April 6, 2020 We lost the
greatest of all Detroit Tigers today. Al Kaline was 85. My heart is broken.
pic.twitter.com/iXMOxqJzNA - Keith Gave (@KeithGave) April 6, 2020 Rest In
Peace to
the legendary Al Kaline. Your stories & advice brought a smile to everybody's
face on
a daily basis. You will be truly missed, and never forgotten. #MrTiger
pic.twitter.com/dVnrrX67LG - Grayson Greiner (@ggreiner21) April 6, 2020 I am
devastated to learn of the passing of Al Kaline. I'm a life long Tiger fan, he
was
the greatest Tiger of them all. As a child, as a teen as a co-worker, he was a
model
for me. Class-Humility- Integrity-Kindness. I got to know him, and I am better
for
that. RIP #6-the best!
*****
Tigers Fans Reminisce About Kaline
With the passing of legendary Al Kaline on Monday at the age of 85, Detroit
Tigers
fans are reminiscing about the man considered by many the best combination of
player
and gentleman to have worn the Olde English "D. He earned the "Mr. Tiger"
nickname
for a reason. The memories of No. 6 will live on forever in the hearts of
Tigers
fans. In honor of his retired jersey number, here are six milestones or
memories
achieved by the late, great Al Kaline: First-ballot Hall of Famer, jersey
retired in
1980 Being a first-ballot Hall of Famer puts a player in the distinction of
"best of
the best. Al Kaline joined that special class of players in 1980, when he was
named
on 340 of 385 voters' ballots, which is good for 88.3 percent. That came only
six
years after Kaline completed his sparkling career with 3,007 hits and 399 home
runs,
plus a .297 batting average with 1,622 runs scored and 1,583 RBIs. That same
year,
Kaline's No. 6 jersey became the first to be retired by the Detroit Tigers.
15-time
All-Star, 10-time Gold Glover Not only was Al Kaline one tough customer at the
plate,
he was dynamite as the Tigers' right fielder. Know for his glove and a rocket
arm,
Kaline won 10 Gold Glove awards (1957-59, 1961-67). Kaline was selected as an
All-Star 13 straight seasons (1955-67) and appeared in the "Midsummer Classic"
15
times. World Series championship in 1968 Al Kaline's 13-year streak of being
selected
an All-Star was snapped in the 1968 season. As fate would have it, that was the
season he helped the Tigers capture the World Series championship in seven
games over
the St. Louis Cardinals. It was his first pennant, and he called it his
greatest year
in baseball. In the World Series that year, Kaline batted .379 with 11 hits,
including two home runs and two doubles to go with eight RBIs and six runs
scored. AL
batting title in 1955 Kaline captured the American League batting title in
1955. He
remains the youngest to pull it off in AL history, achieving the feat at 20
years,
280 days. Kaline batted .340 with 200 hits and 321 total bases - each of those
numbers leading the league that season. In the third season of his 22-year
big-league
career, he belted 27 home runs and 24 doubles to go with a career-high 128
RBIs.
Roberto Clemente Award in 1973 Former Pittsburgh Pirates star Roberto Clemente
is
remembered not only for his play on the field, but for his humanitarian
efforts.
Clemente died in a plane crash in 1972 while he was on his way to aid
earthquake
victims in Nicaragua. Al Kaline was named winner of the Roberto Clemente Award
in
1973, the first year after Major League Baseball changed the name to the annual
award
that goes to the player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball,
sportsmanship,
community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team. One team,
22
years Two of the qualities of Al Kaline which endeared him to Detroit Tigers
fans
were his longevity and loyalty. He came to the organization as an 18-year-old
from
Baltimore, fresh out of high school. He did not play a single game in the
minors, and
he spent all 22 of his big-league seasons with the Tigers. "Mr. Tiger" is on
par with
names such as Clemente, Gehrig, Koufax, Musial, Mantle and Williams, among
other
legends who spent their entire careers with one organization. Read more: Tigers
legend Al Kaline dies at age 85 MLive's Mount Rushmore of Detroit Tigers These
classic 1968 Detroit Tigers photos are pure baseball joy The illustrated
history of
the magical 1968 Detroit Tigers season
*****
Beloved Tigers star, Hall of Famer Al Kaline dies at 85. DETROIT Fresh off the
train
and only 18 years old, Al Kaline ran into an immediate roadblock trying to join
the
Detroit Tigers. Called up to the majors, he couldn't get past the security
guards at
Briggs Stadium. I finally convinced them I was the guy who just signed a bonus
contract for the enormous sum of $15,000. That was a lot back then, Kaline
recalled
in a 1999 documentary. His anonymity was short-lived. Kaline, the Hall of Fame
outfielder who played his entire 22-season career for Detroit, died Monday at
his
home in Michigan. Mr. Tiger as he was affectionately known was 85. John Morad,
a
friend of Kaline's, confirmed his death, and the Tigers did so as well in a
statement. No cause of death was given. Kaline was the youngest player to win
the
American League batting title, in 1955 at age 20 with a .340 average. He was an
All-Star in 15 seasons and won 10 Gold Gloves. The beloved No. 6 later sat
behind a
microphone as a Tigers broadcaster and was a special assistant to the general
manager. Kaline was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1980 in his first year of
eligibility. There's a reason why he was Mr. Tiger, said Dave Dombrowski,
Detroit's
team president from 2001-2015. First-class person, he was humble, he always
played
hard. He's the type of guy that everybody could latch onto. Houston Astros star
Justin Verlander, who pitched for the Tigers from 2005-2017, tweeted his
appreciation
Monday. Such a kind and generous man who meant so much to so many, Verlander
said. I
hope you knew how much I enjoyed our conversations about baseball, life, or
just
giving each other a hard time. I am honored to have been able to call you my
friend
for all these years. Kaline came straight out of Baltimore's Southern High
School to
the majors, making his debut on June 25, 1953. He took over as Detroit's
everyday
right fielder in 1954, and quickly became a fan favorite at Briggs Stadium,
later
renamed Tiger Stadium. Kaline never hit 30 home runs in a season and topped the
100-RBI mark only three times, but his overall consistency at the plate and his
exceptional fielding and throwing put him among the top AL outfielders. There
have
been a lot of great defensive players. The fella who could do everything is Al
Kaline, Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson once said. He was just
the
epitome of what a great outfielder is all about great speed, catches the ball
and
throws the ball well. Kaline finished his career with 3,007 hits and 399 home
runs.
He scored 1,622 runs and had 1,582 RBIs. He got his 3,000th hit back in
Baltimore,
slicing a double down the right field line in September 1974, his final season.
In
his only World Series, Kaline hit .379 with two home runs and eight RBIs as the
Tigers overcame a 3-1 deficit to beat St. Louis for the 1968 championship. If
there
is one accomplishment for which I am particularly proud it is that I've always
served
baseball to the best of my ability, Kaline said during his Hall of Fame
induction
speech. Never have I deliberately done anything to discredit the game, the
Tigers or
my family. By far, being inducted into the Hall of Fame is the proudest moment
of my
life. You can be sure that I will make every effort to live up to the
obligation
associated with this honor, he said. That same year, his No. 6 became the first
uniform number retired by the Tigers. Many of us who are fortunate enough to
work in
baseball have our short lists of the players who mean the most to us. Al Kaline
was
one of those players for me and countless others, making this a very sad day
for our
sport, Commissioner Rob Manfred said. Kaline and Willie Horton another beloved
ex-Tiger were named in 2001 as members of the new Tigers Baseball Committee,
joining
team owner and president Mike Ilitch, general manager Randy Smith and manager
Phil
Garner. Ilitch disbanded the committee at the end of that season, but both
Kaline and
Horton remained as special assistants to Dombrowski after his arrival. Jim
Leyland
managed the Tigers for much of Dombrowski's tenure, but Leyland also spent time
in
the Detroit organization as a minor leaguer in the 1960s and had known Kaline
since
then. Leyland had his own name for Kaline: I always called him Mr. Gentleman.
Major
League Baseball presented Kaline in 1973 with the Roberto Clemente Award
honoring the
player who best exemplifies sportsmanship, community involvement and
contribution to
his team. Hall of Famers Alan Trammell and Jack Morris, teammates on Detroit's
1984
championship team, praised Kaline's influence. Today we lost one of our
treasures. Al
Kaline was an icon, not only to the Tigers organization, but to all of
baseball. Mr.
Tiger was not just a great player, but was also a classy person who I held in
high
esteem, Trammell said in a statement released by the Hall. Said Morris: If you
were a
Tiger, you followed his lead. Whether he was a player or broadcaster, he was
around
the field, around the clubhouse, and available to have a conversation if you
needed
some advice. That's what the Tigers players cherished. The Tigers' spring
training
complex in Lakeland, Florida, is on Al Kaline Drive. Larry Herndon was a Tigers
outfielder from 1982-88, when Kaline would work with the big leaguers as a
spring
training instructor. He was a golden person, along with being a great
ballplayer.
Gentle, kind, giving, Herndon said. Every good thing you ever heard about Al
Kaline,
it's all true.
******
Thanks to Marcia Moses for catching the following article:
Al Kaline , who in a long and unique Detroit Tigers lifetime grew from
youthful
batting champion to Hall of Famer to distinguished elder statesman, died
Monday
afternoon at his home in Bloomfield Hills. He was 85. A cause of death was not
immediately available. John Morad, a close friend of the family, confirmed the
news
to the Free Press after speaking with Kaline's younger son, Mike. His health
had been
declining over the past year.
Kaline is survived by another son, Mark, and his wife, Madge Louise Hamilton.
In 22 seasons with the Tigers, most of them as a marvelous right fielder,
Kaline
played in more games and hit more homers than anyone else in club history, and
he
compiled a batting résumé second only to Ty Cobb’s.
But while Cobb was widely reviled for his bitterness and meanness, Kaline was
eminently respected for his on-field elegance and off-field graciousness.
Thus, Kaline has a strong claim as the most distinguished Tiger of them all.
Al Kaline, born Dec. 19, 1934 in Baltimore, Maryland, is most known as "Mr.
Tiger"
and his 22 years playing for the Detroit Tigers. Kaline was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980.
Albert William Kaline was born in a working poor section of Baltimore on Dec.
19,
1934. His father was a broom maker. His mother scrubbed floors.
When Kaline received a reported $35,000 signing bonus from the Tigers in 1953,
he
paid off the mortgage on his parents’ home and paid for an eye operation for
his
mother.
“They’d always helped me,” he said. “They knew I wanted to be a major leaguer,
and
they did everything they could to give me time for baseball. I never had to
take a
paper route or work in a drugstore or anything.
“I just played ball.”
He signed with the Tigers the morning after he graduated from high school and
made
his major-league debut a week later. He would never play in the minors. He
would
never wear any uniform but Detroit’s.
Hall of Fame glove, bat
Kaline was 39 when he played his final game, in 1974. Days before his career
ended,
he had reached one of baseball’s most cherished plateaus when he recorded his
3,000th hit.
But he finished with 399 home runs, and on the final day of his career, he left
the
season-ending game with several innings remaining.
But statistics never captured how special Kaline was. Like the Yankees’
Joe DiMaggio and the Cardinals’ Stan Musial, he embodied the beauty of the
game and
became a living monument of how gracefully it could be played.
Hall of Fame voters didn’t seem bothered that Kaline didn’t hit 400 homers. In
his
first year of eligibility, he was elected with 88% of the vote by baseball
writers —
well above the 75% required for induction.
Yet the humble Kaline said he was “shocked” when he learned he had been
elected.
After the Hall of Fame’s initial class in 1936, only nine players before him
were
elected in their first year on the ballot, a list of diamond luminaries that
included Musial, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Jackie Robinson,
but
not DiMaggio, Cy Young, Hank Greenberg or Yogi Berra.
Kaline is one of the few dozen players in history to get 3,000 hits.
Like his contemporary, Pittsburgh right fielder Roberto Clemente, Kaline is
remembered nearly as much for his defense as for his offense -- perhaps just
as
much.
In one game as a rookie, Kaline threw out a Chicago White Sox runner for three
consecutive innings -- at home, third and second. The Sporting News said of a
robbery he made in 1956 at Yankee Stadium: "No one who saw it will forget how
Kaline
shot above the right field scoreboard in the stadium to make a great
one-handed
catch on Mickey Mantle."
Kaline is one of six Tigers with a statue behind the left-center field fence at
Comerica Park. And despite his 3,007 hits and those club-record 399 homers,
that
statue shows him not with a bat in hand, but making a leaping, one-handed
catch like
the one he made on Mantle.
But Kaline likely would have made the Hall of Fame on his hitting alone. Every
eligible player who has gotten 3,000 hits has entered the Hall except for
Rafael
Palmeiro, whose candidacy was short-circuited by a positive test for steroids
soon
after his milestone base hit in 2005.
Kaline won the American League batting title as a 20-year-old in 1955, and
although
he never won another, he never stopped hitting.
In Kaline’s final season, ace Baltimore pitcher Jim Palmer said of him:
"I like to watch him hit. I like to watch him hit even against us.
He’s got good rhythm, a picture swing. Other hitters could learn a lot just by
watching him. The thing about Kaline is that he’ll not only hit your mistakes,
he’ll
hit your good pitches, too."
Palmer recalled how in his first big-league start, in 1965, he struck out
Kaline
looking on three pitches the first time he faced him. The second time up,
Palmer
said, he threw Kaline a fastball, curve and change-up. Kaline hit the
change-up for
a two-run homer.
After one year out of baseball following his retirement, Kaline joined the
Tigers’
television team in 1976 as the analyst for play-by-play man George Kell, a
former
Tigers third baseman. Kell, also a Hall of Famer, and Kaline, after a rough
learning
curve, provided engaging, incisive commentary on telecasts for the next two
decades.
When Kell retired from broadcasting, Kaline worked on the air with play-by-play
men
Ernie Harwell and then Frank Beckmann into 2001.
Before the 2002 season, new club president Dave Dombrowski appointed Kaline a
special
assistant. He was a frequent inhabitant of the field and clubhouse. After
owner Mike
Ilitch fired Dombrowski during the
2015 season, Kaline remained in the front office as a special assistant for the
new
general manager, Al Avila.
Short on a homer, long on humility
By never playing in the minors and wearing a Tigers uniform for every game,
Kaline is
in a very small group of players who performed for one team and one team only.
Another was a Hall of Fame contemporary, left-handed pitcher Sandy Koufax of
the
Dodgers. They faced each other twice, in All-Star Games in the 1960s, with
Kaline
singling and fouling out.
Baseball’s rules in the 1950s kept the two out of the minors at the start of
their
careers. Back then, there wasn’t an amateur draft — the vehicle that gives one
club
exclusive signing rights to an amateur player.
To keep down the bidding wars on amateur players in those pre-draft days,
baseball
mandated that any player signed for more than $4,000 would have to spend two
years in
the majors before he could be sent to the minors for seasoning.
The Tigers thought Kaline was well worth it. When he came out of high school,
the
team spread the word it had signed him for $35,000, a figure repeated
countless
times over the decades.
However, in interviews for a 2010 book, "Al Kaline: A Biography of a Tigers
Icon,"
Kaline told author Jim Hawkins: "It was a $15,000 bonus, plus two years’
salary of
$6,000 each, which was the major-league minimum at the time."
Still, for a bonus worth $145,000 in today's dollars, Kaline basically went
straight
from high school graduation to the Tigers. He was 18 years and six months old
when
he played his first game for them on June 25, 1953.
By the time he was eligible to go to the minors in 1955, he was on the way to
that
season’s batting title. He was 20 years old when he finished with a .340
average, 21
points higher than anyone else in the league and 12 days younger than Cobb was
when
he won the 1907 title.
At 20 years and 280 days, Kaline remains the youngest batting champion in
American
League history.
His highest finish in a batting race after that was second, which he achieved
three
times.
He never led the league in homers or runs batted in, and he never won its most
valuable player award (he twice finished second in the voting).
But Kaline hit .300 or better in nine seasons and finished with a .297 lifetime
average.
In 10 seasons he won a Gold Glove as one of the three best defensive
outfielders in
the American League.
In his later years, he played often at first base as well as in the outfield.
In his
final season, he served exclusively in a role that the AL had instituted the
year
before — designated hitter.
He won the respect of the Boston outfielder who is widely regarded as the
greatest
hitter in history.
This became evident one day as Kaline sat in the media dining room at Fenway
Park
before doing the telecast of a Tigers-Red Sox game. Into the room swooped Ted
Williams. He knew his entrance would require him to fend off the Boston press
with
whom he long feuded. But he had an important mission, as he growled at the
reporters
who approached him.
"I just came in here to say hello to Al Kaline," he said.
Boston wasn’t filled with such kindness for Kaline in 1967, when he was
selected an
All-Star for the 13th straight year.
But in the same season, he had a right to wonder whether he would be among the
handful of all-time great players who never reached the World Series.
For the first several years of his career, Kaline and the rest of the American
League
basically were blocked from the World Series by a New York Yankees dynasty.
Not only
were those the days before the draft caused talent to be more equally
distributed,
it also was before the major leagues were split into divisions. There were no
postseason playoffs within the leagues; the teams that finished first in the
American and National leagues advanced directly into the World Series.
In Kaline’s first 12 seasons, the Yankees won 10 pennants. Then that dynasty
abruptly
collapsed.
A few years later, in 1967, the Tigers made their first down-to-the-wire run
at the
pennant in Kaline’s career. They were eliminated when they lost their final
game of
the season.
Boston -- not Detroit -- won its first pennant since the mid-1940s.
But the next year, they would not be stopped, and they didn’t even need a huge
season
from Kaline. The team had a narrow first-place lead in the AL in late May when
he
suffered a broken left forearm. When he returned five weeks later, the Tigers
were
well on their way to the pennant. They won it by 12 games with a 103-59 record.
The
MVP of the Tigers and the AL was right-hander Denny McLain, who became the
first
(and still only) pitcher to win 30 games in a season since the 1930s.
Typical of Kaline’s humility, he questioned whether he even deserved to be in
the
starting lineup for the World Series. He said he didn’t see how manager Mayo
Smith
could bench Mickey Stanley or Jim Northrup, who had gotten most of Kaline’s
at-bats
when he was injured.
After his return July 1, they kept playing and Kaline logged only 191 at-bats.
He
started and finished only 58 games in right field that season. According to a
Joe
Falls exclusive in the Free Press the day after the pennant clincher, an
emotional
Kaline said: "I don’t deserve to play in the World Series."
But with four outfielders for three starting spots, Smith came up with a daring
solution for the World Series against St. Louis: He moved Stanley from center
field
to shortstop to replace light-hitting Ray Oyler, even though Stanley had
played only
nine games there in the big leagues.
Kaline returned to right field for the World Series, and he batted .379 with
eight
RBIs. His 11 hits in the Series included two homers, two doubles and --
perhaps the
biggest hit of the Series and of his career.
The Tigers were within a few innings of elimination when Kaline batted with the
bases
loaded and one out in the seventh inning of Game 5 at Tiger Stadium. He
delivered a
two-run single that turned a one-run deficit into a one-run lead.
The Tigers never trailed again in the Series. They won Game 5, then went to St.
Louis
and beat the Cardinals in Games 6 and 7.
At 33, he had played on his first and only pennant winner and world champion.
In 1969, baseball expanded and went to divisional play. In 1972, Kaline played
on a
first-place finisher for the second and last time.
At age 37, he got into one of the hottest hitting stretches of his career in
the
final days of the season and helped the Tigers edge Boston by a half-game for
the
East Division title. In his last 10 games, eight of which the Tigers won,
Kaline
batted .512 (21-for-41) with four homers, eight RBIs and 15 runs scored.
If the Tigers had beaten Oakland in the playoffs, Kaline would have been back
in the
World Series. But in the winner-take-all final game of the playoff series,
Oakland
sneaked out of Tiger Stadium with a 2-1 victory.
The potential tying run in the decisive Game 5 reached first base in the
seventh,
eighth and ninth innings against Vida Blue:
Aurelio Rodriguez made the third out in the seventh, Kaline made the second
out and
Duke Sims the third out in the eighth, and Tony Taylor made the game’s final
out.
Kaline’s 3,000th hit represented a major circle closing. It came in his
hometown of
Baltimore on Sept. 24, 1974. He had 2,999 hits when the game began. He
grounded out
in his first at-bat. In his second, he hit an opposite-field double down the
right-field line off left-hander Dave McNally for No. 3,000.
"He hit a fastball that went right across the plate," McNally said. "I got an
autographed ball from him that day."
Ten days later, on the final day of his career, Kaline’s humility surfaced
again and
perhaps cost him a chance at his 400th homer.
There are a few accepted ways for a star to take his final bow: leave the
field for
a defensive replacement in the late innings, or take a late-game at-bat. Either
way,
the crowd can give the departing stalwart one last resounding ovation.
Kaline chose neither in his finale, which was played against Baltimore on a
Wednesday
afternoon in early October in front of a mere 4,671 at Tiger Stadium. He
couldn’t
take a final trot in from his defensive position because he was the DH. So his
final
appearance would come in the batter’s box.
Kaline had hits in 13 of his previous 15 games but he hadn’t homered since
Sept. 18.
In his first two times up that day against left-hander Mike Cuellar, Kaline
struck
out looking and flied to left.
His next turn at-bat came with two out and one on in the fifth inning.
Instead, he allowed manager Ralph Houk to send up Ben Oglivie to hit for him
against
right-hander Wayne Garland.
The small gathering of fans was thus denied the chance to salute Kaline and see
him
take a few more at-bats in pursuit of the 400th homer. According to one
report,
“the crowd booed thunderously.”
Afterward, Kaline explained that he had injured his left shoulder over the
weekend,
realized that he lacked the strength to hit a home run and asked Houk to
remove him
from the game.
"I was sitting there in the clubhouse and I could hear them booing," Kaline
said. "I
really felt sorry for Ben. It wasn’t his fault."
Houk said: "With a hitter as great as he is, you don’t send him back out there
when
he says he’s had enough. I think I owed Al that much."
Kaline’s early exit was so stunning, the fans’ reaction so overwhelming and the
media’s
coverage so negative toward the Tigers that Kaline still faced questions about
it on
the January 1980 day that he was elected to the Hall of Fame.
"That was one of my most embarrassing moments," he said years later. "But you
have
to understand that I didn’t realize at the time the fans came out to see me in
my
last time at-bat."
Kaline made his permanent home in metro Detroit from early in his Tigers
career. But
in his later role as assistant to the president, he often went with the Tigers
on
their trips to Baltimore.
In one such homecoming instance, he showed that he was anything but a
front-runner.
He joined the Tigers on their trip to Baltimore early in the 2003 season, when
they
were 4-25 and already being called one of the worst teams ever -- which it
turned
out they were.
"The best I ever played against"
When Kaline was 8, he was diagnosed with osteomyelitis, and 2 inches of bone
was
removed from his left foot. Despite a permanent deformity and constant pain
throughout his life — "it’s like a toothache in the foot," he once explained
-- he
quickly developed into a skilled athlete in a baseball-playing extended family.
He was first a pitcher. That made sense, because his father and grandfather
were
catchers.
"My grandfather was a barehanded catcher in the old Eastern Shore League," he
said
on his first day in the big leagues. "And my father was an amateur catcher
around
Baltimore."
Kaline recalled that when he was 12, he went 10-0 on his neighborhood team. But
when
he went out for his high school team as a freshman, his coach put him in the
outfield because of his strong and accurate arm.
"That was the best break I ever got," he said in 1955, the season he became a
star.
Major-league scouts descended on Kaline’s high school games. The competition
for him
came down to the Tigers and a few other teams willing to make him "a bonus
baby" --
the player whose signing bonus was big enough that he had to spend those two
years
in the majors before he could go to the minors.
Early in his Detroit career, Kaline said: "I signed with the Tigers because
they had
shown the most interest and because I thought I might get a chance to play
oftener
with them."
In 1952, the Tigers had lost 104 games. In 1953, they lost 94 more.
In 1954, his first full season, Kaline took over as the right fielder.
By mid-1955, he was on the way to the batting title. Plus, his team finished
with a
winning record.
"Everything I hit that year fell in or was in the hole," he said a
quarter-century
later. "That, and the pitchers didn’t start pitching me cute until August. In
effect
they were saying they’d rather take their chances with me and pitch around the
big
guys. Then they must have decided, ‘Hey, this guy’s for real.’"
When he broke Hank Greenberg’s club record for career homers, Kaline
said: "How can anyone compare me with Greenberg? I’m not a home run hitter."
Kaline’s single-season high in homers was 29 — exactly half of the club-record
58
that Greenberg had swatted in 1938.
But consistent excellence is baseball’s greatest jewel, and Kaline delivered it
for
two decades.
By 1970, his 17th full Tigers season, he noticed he was getting applause in
parks
throughout the American League.
"This makes a guy feel good," Kaline told The Sporting News.
"Most of it is for being around so long. I’ve stood the test of time. And I
haven’t
done anything to embarrass the game or myself."
The same can be said of Clemente, the Pirates’ star and humanitarian who died
in a
plane crash in the winter of 1972-73 while en route to help earthquake victims
in
Nicaragua.
Like Kaline, Clemente broke in during the mid-1950s, played his whole career
with
one team and piled up 3,000 hits and innumerable defensive marvels.
Upon Clemente’s death, Major League Baseball renamed in his honor its annual
award
for the player who “best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship,
community
involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team.”
In 1973, the first time it was given as the Roberto Clemente Award, the winner
was Al
Kaline.
While Clemente served in many ways as Kaline’s mirror image, Baltimore third
baseman
Brooks Robinson became his alter ego.
Like Kaline, Robinson was a dangerous hitter who was one of the best defensive
players at his position. Like Kaline, Robinson continually presented a mix of
class,
competitiveness and humility.
In Kaline’s final season as a player, Robinson said: "When you talk about
all-around
ballplayers, I’d say Kaline is the best I ever played against. And he’s a
super-nice
guy, too."
"There aren’t too many guys who are good ballplayers and nice guys, too. Your
attitude determines how good you’re going to be — in life as well as in
baseball. He’s
got a great attitude."
John Lowe, who started covering the Tigers for the Free Press in 1986, wrote Al
Kaline’s obituary before he retired after the 2014 season.
Gene Myers, who retired in 2015 after 22½ years as sports editor, contributed
to
this report.
*****
Al Kaline, Tigers' Perennial All-Star Known as Mr. Perfection, Dies at 85. By
Richard
Goldstein.
One of baseball's finest hitters, he was also one of its best defensive
outfielders,
playing 22 seasons in Detroit. To Billy Martin, he was "Mr. Perfection."
Al Kaline, one of baseball's finest hitters and defensive outfielders whose
Hall of
Fame career spanned 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, died on Monday April 6,
2020
at his home in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. He was 85. His son Mark confirmed the
death.
No specific cause was given.
Kaline lacked the charisma of a Mickey Mantle or a Willie Mays, and he played
on only
one World Series championship team, but he was among baseball's premier figures
of
his era.
He became the youngest batting champion in major league history in 1955 when he
hit
.340 at age 20.
He had 3,007 career hits, the 12th player to reach the No. 3,000 milestone, and
he
hit 399 home runs, a Tiger record.
Renowned for his powerful arm, Kaline won 10 Gold Glove awards for his play in
right
field and sometimes in center.
He set an American League record for outfielders by playing in 242 consecutive
games
without an error. He played in 2,834 games from 1953 to 1974, the most of any
Tiger,
and only Ty Cobb equaled his 22 years with the team.
Kaline was a perennial All-Star, and in 1980 he became the 10th player inducted
into
the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Billy Martin, his manager late in his career, referred to Kaline as "Mr.
Perfection,"
but his achievements came in the face of twin obstacles.
He encountered the pressure of comparisons with Cobb, one of baseball's
greatest
players, and he had been hampered since childhood by the bone disease
osteomyelitis.
"When you talk about all-around ballplayers, I'd say Kaline is the best I ever
played
against," the Baltimore Orioles' Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson
told
United Press International in September 1974 as Kaline approached his career's
final
days.
Albert William Kaline was born on Dec. 19, 1934, into a working-class family in
Baltimore that was determined to see him become a major league ballplayer. His
father, Nicholas, two uncles and a grandfather had been semipro catchers on
Maryland's Eastern Shore.
"Even though my family could have used the money I might have made at odd jobs,
my
father would never let me earn a dime," Kaline once told The Detroit News. "I
never
had to take a paper route or work in a drugstore or anything. I just played
ball."
When Kaline was 8 years old, doctors removed two inches of bone from his left
foot to
ease his osteomyelitis, leaving scars, a deformity and discomfort when he took
the
field.
But that didn't deter the young Kaline, who sometimes played for five teams at
the
same time in Baltimore.
"I'd play a game in one end of town, then my father or uncle would drive me to
another game," he recalled. "I would change uniforms in the car on the way.
Sometimes
I'd play three games in a day. I never got enough."
Kaline signed with the Tigers in June 1953, a few days after graduating from
Southern
High School in Baltimore, where he batted over .400 in three of his four
seasons. He
never spent a day in the minor leagues.
He was soon a fixture in Detroit, sometimes known simply as Six, for his number.
At 6 feet 2 inches and a trim 180 pounds, he lacked the classic mold of many a
power
hitter. But he squeezed rubber balls to strengthen his hands and relied on
superb
timing and his study of pitchers out of his right-handed stance.
He hit .300 or better seven times between 1955 and 1963.
Kaline finally reached the World Series in 1968, when the Tigers played the St.
Louis
Cardinals. He had broken an arm when he was hit by a pitch in late May,
sidelining
him for six weeks, and Jim Northrup had replaced him in right field.
But Kaline got his batting form back late in the season, and Manager Mayo Smith
moved
Mickey Stanley from center field to shortstop for the Series in place of the
light-hitting Ray Oyler, switched Northrup from right field to center and put
Kaline
in right.
In Game 5, with the Tigers down 3 games to 1 and trailing in the game by 3-2,
Kaline
delivered a two-run single that gave the Tigers the lead, and they went on to
win in
seven games behind the pitching of Mickey Lolich and Denny McLain. Kaline hit
.379
for the Series with two home runs and eight runs batted in.
He reached the postseason only one more time, when the Tigers lost to the
Oakland A's
in the 1972 American League Championship Series.
Kaline had a .297 career batting average, with 1,583 runs batted in and 1,622
runs
scored. After retiring as a player, he was a longtime commentator for the
Tigers'
television broadcasts and then a special assistant in the team's front office.
When Detroit played its last game at Tiger Stadium, in September 1999, Kaline
brought
the lineup card to home plate, receiving a standing ovation.
He is honored with a bronze statute behind the center-field wall at Comerica
Park,
where the Tigers play today.
In addition to his son Mike, he is survived by his wife, Madge Louise
(Hamilton)
Kaline; another son, Mark; and four grandchildren.
Early in Kaline's career, Ted Williams raved about him. "In my book he's the
greatest
right-handed hitter in the league," Sports Illustrated quoted Williams as
saying.
"There's no telling how far the kid could go."
But Kaline, as baseball's youngest batting champion -- Cobb was slightly older
when
he won the title in 1907 -- faced heavy burdens.
"The worse thing that happened to me in the big leagues was the start I had,"
Kaline
told Sports Illustrated in 1964. "Everybody said this guy's another Ty Cobb,
another
Joe DiMaggio. How much pressure can you take?"
Kaline performed brilliantly nonetheless, and on Sept. 24, 1974, just before
his
career came to a close, he doubled off the Orioles' Dave McNally at Baltimore's
Memorial Stadium for his 3,000th hit, the hometown boy back in town to achieve
a rare
baseball feat.
*****
Kaline's impact resonated through nearly 70 years with the Tigers
If there was anyone who might know, it would be Mr. Willie Horton. So on Monday
afternoon, a few minutes before 3 p.m., I called Mr. Horton. He had just
finished up
some yard work. The last he heard from Mr. Al Kaline was a couple of days ago,
when
they talked on the phone. Five minutes after hanging up with me, Mr. Horton
called
back. He had just received a phone call. He was crying. On Monday, the Tigers
lost
their franchise player. Al Kaline, nicknamed "Mr. Tiger" one of the remaining
figures
you instinctively address as "Mister" died at his home in Bloomfield Hills.
Kaline,
who sits on the Mount Rushmore of Detroit sports figures and spent all of his
adult
years in the Tigers organization as a Hall of Fame player, broadcaster and
front
office figure, was 85 years old. As the baseball world remembered Kaline with
acknowledgments from Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, players
association director (and former Tiger) Tony Clark, and countless former
players whom
Kaline had affected Horton mourned his friend's passing. There is the story
about the
time in Milwaukee in 1970, when Kaline collided with Jim Northrup in center
field at
old County Stadium and Kaline was knocked unconscious. He turned blue and
nearly died
on the field. Horton couldn't talk about it now. He was still coming to grips
with
the fact that Kaline, someone he grew up idolizing in Detroit, starring on the
most
influential Tigers team in history, was gone. When Horton first met Kaline, he
addressed him as "Mr. Kaline. Soon enough, he became "Al. But to multiple
generations
of fans, he was the consummate Tiger, one who not only made his impact felt on
the
field but off it as well as a first-class personality who was humble to the
core. "I
have him on a pedestal," Alan Trammell said Monday afternoon. "That's just how
I was
raised. From Trammell to Buck Farmer to Nick Castellanos, Kaline made an
impression.
With Trammell, there was the bond of being a franchise player in Detroit and
receiving the torch from the 1968 World Series title team to 1984. "Al Kaline
is at
another level, as far as I'm concerned," Trammell said. "Just a special,
special
person that will obviously never been forgotten but will be sorely missed.
Beginning
with his breakout season as a 20-year-old in 1955, Kaline made 13 consecutive
American League All-Star teams, and 18 in all. He won 10 AL Gold Gloves in
right
field and hit .297 with 399 home runs and 1,587 RBIs in 22 seasons, and was
inducted
in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980. But he will be remembered in Tigers
history not
only for his on-field play, but for the way he represented the franchise for
his
entire adult life: His impact is felt in the spontaneous breakfast meeting with
Farmer, a reliever since 2014, and in the improvement of Castellanos, who chose
uniform No. 6 after getting traded to the Cubs, partly to honor Kaline. For
Farmer,
that morning in Baltimore began at the coffee shop at the team's hotel. Kaline
was
waiting for his ride. "He sat down and we had a cup of coffee, for I want to
say, at
least an hour," Farmer said. "He told me all about how he grew up and it was
really
cool to sit there and talk about stuff away from baseball and get to know Mr.
Kaline
on a personal level. It put a whole new meaning to seeing him in the clubhouse
every
day. "Having an actual, genuine friendship or relationship with him beyond just
knowing him and his stats and knowing that he was a Hall of Famer and stuff. It
was
just something that, not a lot of people get to sit down with a guy like that
and
talk about just life in general. Kaline was a fixture in the Tigers' clubhouse,
with
a locker on the back wall. His name and number are painted on the brick wall
beyond
the left-center field fence at Comerica Park, denoting him as one of the team's
all-time legends. But to Castellanos, he was more than that. "A role model," he
said.
"He's somebody who's the face of the Tigers. Just a stand-up gentleman and a
phenomenal baseball player. Castellanos met Kaline when he was 18 years old,
when he
visited Comerica Park after signing with the Tigers in 2010. In the years that
followed, Kaline took him under his wing and helped him through tough times.
"The
older I got, the more comfortable they made me feel because I was really able
to
understand and use him more," Castellanos said. "Sometimes when you're young,
you
don't realize these things. Yeah, you know who these people are but if you're
not in
a place to realize things, it doesn't matter. "He was just the epitome of 'stay
the
course. Through the whole rebuild thing, he was a big reason why I wanted to
stay.
Because he played 10 years with the Tigers before they made the postseason.
Just
hearing the stories of where he was at when they started, just taught me
patience
more than anything. Kaline's presence was felt for generations; through
Trammell and
the 1984 "Bless You Boys" t and beyond. But perhaps no one could sum up Monday
afternoon better than Horton, who is immortalized next to Kaline as a statue in
left-center field at Comerica Park. Nothing more needed to be said about Mr.
Kaline,
one of the few remaining "Misters" who commanded a Hall of Fame kind of
respect.
There were only tears for a friend we all lost.
*****
Al Kaline's true gift was how he made you feel every time you talked by Jeff
Seidel
I walked up to Al Kaline at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown,
N.Y.,
which was surreal, considering he was standing so close to his own plaque.It
was like
approaching baseball royalty in the room where they keep the crowns and thrones.
Mr. Kaline, yesterday, I met a girl here in Cooperstown whose name is Kaline,"
I
said.
It was in 2018 at a reception before Jack Morris and Alan Trammell were
inducted into
the Hall. "I wrote a story about her," I said.
"I know!" he said. "I met her today and we took a picture."
He paused for a beat.
"Usually, they name dogs after me," Kaline said, smiling. "This is the first
girl."
He laughed.
That is how I'll remember Kaline full of humility, humor, grace and elegance.
Kaline died Monday at his home in Bloomfield Hills at 85. It's an incredibly
sad day,
not only for the state, but for the baseball world.Because we lost more than a
legend.We have lost Mr. Tiger.
Just like your next-door neighbor
I don't remember watching Kaline play I was 7 when he retired from the Tigers
in
1974. But I do remember watching him on TV with George Kell. That's my
childhood. I'd
watch George and Al on the TV, and my dad would be out in the yard with a radio
hanging from his belt listening to Ernie Harwell.
I met Kaline for the first time in June 2012. It was my first day on the job as
a
sports columnist.
"What do you remember about your first day in the big leagues? I asked him.
"I was scared to death," Kaline said. "Didn't know anybody. Didn't know where
to
sit."
His face lit up from the memory.
It was June 25, 1953, and the Tigers were playing the Philadelphia Athletics at
Connie Mack Stadium in front of 2,368. He was an 18-year-old, straight out of
high
school.
"My locker was a nail in the bathroom," Kaline said. "That's where I hung my
clothes."
He had one at-bat in his debut and he remembered the relief of hitting a fly
ball to
center field.
"It was the only day I was glad to make an out," Kaline says, "because I wanted
to
get back on that bench so fast."
He smiled and laughed.
Here was a man with 3,007 hits. A man with 22 seasons as a big-leaguer. A man
with a
statue behind the left-center field fence at Comerica Park. And he was as
approachable and as friendly as a next-door neighbor.
"Such a kind and generous man who meant so much to so many," Justin Verlander
wrote
on Twitter. "I hope you knew how much I enjoyed our conversations about
baseball,
life, or just giving each other a hard time. I am honored to have been able to
call
you my friend for all these years. R.I.P. Mr Tiger, Al Kaline.
Humble to the end
Growing up in Bay City, my team was the '84 Tigers. The '68 Tigers were my
dad's
team. And every time I talked to Kaline, I felt like I was representing my
father and
his generation.
Back in 2018, the Tigers kicked off a 50th anniversary celebration of their
1968
World Series title and Kaline talked about that magical season.
"I got hurt," Kaline said, about breaking his arm in '68. "I missed a lot of
that
season. I'm forever grateful to the players that kept playing and played their
pardon
my expression butts off. I will always praise (outfielder) Jim Northrup. The
way Jim
Northrup went about his business and was an outstanding player that year, I'll
never
forget that. I'm forever grateful to all the players who battled. Fortunately,
I was
able to come back and start playing."
He couldn't help but be humble. While talking about that title, he gave all
kinds of
praise to the Tigers' bench.
"I don't think they get the (recognition) that they should," Kaline said. "They
really played a big role in winning the world championship. You have to have 25
players. You can't win with just nine guys."
And then, he came back with his humor.
"Norm (Cash) was the type of guy who played hard every day," Kaline said. "He
came to
the ballpark a lot of times, not feeling very well. For whatever reason. But he
was
always into the game and played hard. A couple of stories, I'm sure all of you
have
heard. Norm had a tendency to strike out a little bit. ... One time, we were
facing
Nolan Ryan and Nolan had a no-hitter going (in 1973), or close to one. Cash
came to
the plate with a leg from a table in the Tigers' clubhouse. "The umpire says,
'You
can't hit with that bat. And he says, 'I'm not going to hit Nolan anyhow."
He just made you feel good
I never get star-struck talking to current athletes. But it was different
talking to
Kaline. It felt like I was talking to Ty Cobb, or some other great player from
history. I just held him in reverence. And I could never call him Al.
"Hello, Mr. Kaline," I would say every time I saw him. He would walk through
the
Tigers clubhouse, see me, squeeze my forearm and smile. He just made you feel
good.
"One of the nicest and sincere (players) I've ever met," Wade Boggs wrote on
Twitter.
And the coolest thing was watching him at spring training, dressed in a
uniform,
talking to young Tigers. Giving advice. Or just hanging out at the ballpark.
Last summer, Kaline stood behind a batting cage in Comerica Park, as Riley
Greene,
the Tigers' No.1 draft pick, was taking batting practice. Greene launched a
ball onto
the second deck in right field, and the ball bounced into "Kaline's Corner,"
the
seating area named after the spot where Kaline made so many great plays at
Tiger
Stadium. To me, it was magical. Like the baseball gods were writing poetry.
Just seeing Kaline and Greene interact
Kaline came off the field, praising Greene. Here was a Hall of Famer, excited
about
the future, excited about the next young kid.
That's the part I'm going to miss the most. Not just the connection to the
past. But
his elegant, humble spirit and the way he made you feel.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
*****
Kaline's milestones:
First game: June 25, 1953, at Philadelphia Athletics; replaced Jim Delsing in
center
field in eighth inning of night game.
Hits: Became the 12th player to reach 3,000-hit plateau with a double in
Baltimore on
Sept. 24, 1974.
Home runs: His total of 399 is the Tigers record. He hit at least 20 homers
nine
times, and would have finished with 400 if not for a rained-out home run on Jun
1,
1958.
Durability: Tied Tris Speaker's American League record by playing at least 100
games
for 19 consecutive seasons (1954-72).
Fielding: Set AL record by playing 242 consecutive games in the outfield
without an
error between May 15, 1970 and July 2, 1972.
Best game: Walked, then collected four straight hits, including three home
runs,
versus Kansas City Athletics on April 17, 1955. His two home runs and eight
total
bases in one inning of that game tied major-league records. All-Star Games:
Played in
16 games. Had 12 hits in 37 at-bats for a .324 average, with two homers, six
RBIs and
seven runs.
Never made an error in an All-Star Game.
******
Kaline was ever humble, even when Hall called April 7, 2020 It was a routine
January
morning in 1980 when the phone rang. It was Free Press sports editor Tom
Hennessey.
"We got a tip," Hennessey told me. "We think Al Kaline is going to make it into
the
Hall of Fame today. I was thrilled for Kaline, who died Monday at the age of
85,
especially since the only other job I had had was the six years working
concessions
for Sportservice at Tiger Stadium, where I learned to appreciate Kaline's
brilliance.
But I found it strange the boss would call me just to tell me the news. "We
want the
first interview with him," Hennessey said. OK, I thought, but why would he be
telling
me this? "We want you to fly to New York," he said. "When you get there, find
out
what plane he's on, buy a ticket on that flight and interview him on the way
home.
All righty, then. No one knew exactly which flight Kaline was on hey, we didn't
even
know for sure he was going to make the Hall of Fame. But I was off for the
airport a
few minutes later and not long after that was on a plane for New York. When I
arrived, I looked for the next flight to Detroit and that gate was about 20
yards
away from the arrival gate. I explained to the ticket agent I needed to be on
the
flight with Kaline, but there was no one named Kaline on the flight's manifest.
It
was a much different time in 1980, so the agent took me onto the plane because
he
didn't know if he could identify Kaline. "Wait a minute! There he is! the agent
shouted. "Congratulations, Mr. Kaline! I had every one of your baseball cards!
Sure
enough, there were Al and his wife, Louise, sitting in first class. They didn't
show
up on the manifest because they were listed as Al and Louise Hamilton, using
his
wife's maiden name. It was the same name they used the night before when they
flew to
New York. The ticket agent and I went back to his desk and he wrote me a
first-class
ticket, one row behind the Kalines. My total time in New York was about 40
minutes
before we were heading back to Detroit. Kaline had no idea who I was, so I
decided to
wait until we were in the air to introduce myself. He glanced at a Sports
Illustrated
and fell asleep as we pulled away from the gate. It was the most he had slept
in the
previous 24 hours. The problem was, I had to interview him. Once we took off, I
worked up the nerve to wake him up and introduce myself, asking to interview
him. He
agreed. "One more thing," I added. "I need to sit next to you so I need to
change
seats with your wife, OK? Louise wasn't thrilled, but Kaline was incredibly
gracious
and amazingly humble as he spoke about his career and his love for the Tigers
and
their fans. He became only the 10th player in history to be elected on the
first year
of eligibility, and as the day of the Hall of Fame announcement neared he was
agonizing over the situation. "It wasn't bad until the fans got all caught up
in it,"
he said. "Everybody said they were so sure I was going to make it. Then I'd lay
in
bed thinking could it be possible? Kaline kept thinking about Joe DiMaggio, who
didn't make it in his first year of eligibility. He wondered how he could
possibly be
named on the required 75% of the ballots. "I thought I had a 50-50 chance of
making
it," he said. "I just hoped I had enough votes that in case I missed I'd be a
sure
thing the next year. Kaline didn't need next year. He was named on 88% of the
ballots, which astonished him. He doubted he belonged in the same category as
Jackie
Robinson, Sandy Koufax, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Bob Feller,
Warren
Spahn, Ernie Banks and Stan Musial, the only other players to be enshrined in
their
first year of eligibility at the time. He said he began thinking about a
baseball
career as a freshman in high school. As far as Hall of Fame was considered,
Kaline
didn't think about it even after the Tigers won the 1968 World Series. "I
hadn't done
enough by '68 to think about the Hall of Fame," he said. "Only when I got to
3,000
hits did writers start writing about me as a future Hall of Famer. When I read
it a
lot, I thought maybe I had a chance. Kaline talked at length about the '68
World
Series and remained eternally grateful to manager Mayo Smith, who made one of
the
most stunning moves in World Series history taking a center fielder and making
him a
shortstop for the World Series. Kaline had been injured and missed six weeks,
meaning
Mickey Stanley and Jim Northrup shared the outfield with Willie Horton. A few
weeks
before the World Series there were no playoff rounds or wild card games back
then
Kaline went to Smith and told him to stick with Stanley and Northrup and not to
worry
about him. "The writers had been writing about how he had to play me," he said.
"So I
went and told him he had to play the guys who got him there. He said he wanted
me to
work out at third base and maybe he could use me there. But one day he said he
was
moving Stanley to shortstop. I couldn't believe it but everything worked out
great.
When quizzed on the subject, he spoke about the time in 1971 when he turned
down a
contract that would have made him a $100,000 player, which was quite a status
symbol
then. Kaline suspected the Tigers offered that amount just to get the press off
their
backs. "I was making close to that, but I didn't have a very good year," he
said. "I
just wanted to have a good year and get the raise that way. He finished with
3,007
hits and 399 home runs but bristled when told those were superstar numbers. "I
don't
like the word superstar," he said. "I think I was a quality player. Not as good
as a
few, but better than most. The Tigers had been struggling for a few years
leading up
to his selection, and Kaline was thrilled at the reception he received getting
off
the plane. "The fans in Detroit haven't had a great deal to cheer about in the
last
few years," he said. "Now, in some very small way, maybe the people have
something to
be proud of. Maybe they can raise their heads up and say: 'Hey, I'm from
Detroit.'
Kaline found out he had been elected to the Hall of Fame the evening before
that
plane ride. And in less that 24 hours, he had a grasp of the significance of
being in
the Hall of Fame. "This is the biggest thrill of all because I know the effect
it
will have," he said, proudly. "All my life, as long as I live, as long as my
kids
live, my name will always be there. "Every time there is an election, my name
will be
there. It's knowing what you've done is appreciated. That interview has been
appreciated for 40 years ... and counting. Mick McCabe is a former longtime
columnist
for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at mick.mccabe11@xxxxxxxxx.
*****
- Follow-Ups:
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- » [msb-alumni] Al Kaline Dies at 85 on April 6, 2020 -- collected articles - Steve
- » [msb-alumni] Re: Al Kaline Dies at 85 on April 6, 2020 -- collected articles- Marcia Moses
