[msb-alumni] Re: Al Kaline Dies at 85 on April 6, 2020 -- collected articles
- From: "Marcia Moses" <mgmoses@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 7 Apr 2020 19:54:19 -0400
Steve, thank you for all the articles.
Marcia
From: msb-alumni-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <msb-alumni-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On
Behalf Of Steve
Sent: Tuesday, April 07, 2020 6:31 PM
To: msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [msb-alumni] Al Kaline Dies at 85 on April 6, 2020 -- collected
articles
Kaline 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 Cobbs.
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.
Theyd 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 Detroits.
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 baseballs 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 didnt seem bothered that Kaline didnt 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 Fames 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 Kalines 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.
Hes got good rhythm, a picture swing. Other hitters could learn a lot just
by watching him. The thing about Kaline is that hell not only hit your
mistakes, hell 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.
Baseballs rules in the 1950s kept the two out of the minors at the start of
their careers. Back then, there wasnt 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 seasons 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 wasnt 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 Kalines 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 Kalines 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 didnt 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 Kalines humility, he questioned whether he even deserved to be
in the starting lineup for the World Series. He said he didnt see how
manager Mayo Smith could bench Mickey Stanley or Jim Northrup, who had
gotten most of Kalines 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 dont 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
games final out.
Kalines 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, Kalines 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 couldnt take a final trot in from his defensive position
because he was the DH. So his final appearance would come in the batters
box.
Kaline had hits in 13 of his previous 15 games but he hadnt 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 wasnt his fault."
Houk said: "With a hitter as great as he is, you dont send him back out
there when he says hes had enough. I think I owed Al that much."
Kalines early exit was so stunning, the fans reaction so overwhelming and
the medias 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 didnt 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 "its 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 Kalines 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 didnt start pitching me
cute until August. In effect they were saying theyd rather take their
chances with me and pitch around the big guys. Then they must have decided,
Hey, this guys for real."
When he broke Hank Greenbergs club record for career homers, Kaline
said: "How can anyone compare me with Greenberg? Im not a home run
hitter."
Kalines single-season high in homers was 29 exactly half of the
club-record 58 that Greenberg had swatted in 1938.
But consistent excellence is baseballs 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. Ive stood the test of time. And
I havent 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 Clementes 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 individuals 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 Kalines 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 Kalines final season as a player, Robinson said: "When you talk about
all-around ballplayers, Id say Kaline is the best I ever played against.
And hes a super-nice guy, too."
"There arent too many guys who are good ballplayers and nice guys, too.
Your attitude determines how good youre going to be in life as well as
in baseball. Hes got a great attitude."
John Lowe, who started covering the Tigers for the Free Press in 1986, wrote
Al Kalines 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 <mailto: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 <mailto:mick.mccabe11@xxxxxxxxx> .
*****
- References:
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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
