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Full Bio
In 1955 at the age of 20, Kaline became the youngest player to win a batting crown
when he hit .340. A recipient of ten Gold Gloves, the right fielder possessed a strong
arm and great instincts. He once played 242 consecutive games in the outfield without
an error. He consistently garnered 25 homers and batted near his .297 lifetime
average. Runner-up for the American League MVP award both in 1955 and 1963, Kaline
finished second to Yankee catchers Yogi Berra in ’55 and Elston Howard in ’63. In
both seasons, despite the vote of the baseball writers, The Sporting News chose Kaline
as the Player of the Year.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s Kaline was hampered by injuries, many of them due to
the deformed bones he was born with in his feet. He continued to produce but routinely
missed out on milestones such as 30 homers, 100 RBI, and 100 runs scored. From 1960 to
1963 Kaline and Rocky Colavito teamed to form one of the most feared duos in baseball,
helping Detroit to 101 wins in 1961. Unfortunately the Tigers finished second to the
Yankees.
In the mid-1960s Kaline grew bitter about some of the negative press he was receiving
in Detroit, where they felt he should be doing more to bring a title to the town. He
even talked openly of being traded. But
In 1968 he led the Detroit Tigers to a World Series title, their first in 23 seasons.
He recovered from a broken arm earlier in the 1968 season to bat .379 against the
Cardinals in the World Series. He had two home runs among his 11 hits in the series
and drove in eight runs, furthering his reputation as a tremendous clutch performer.
Most amazing about Kaline's performance in the World Series was the fact that manager
Mayo Smith juggled his defense to get the veteran in the lineup. In the most daring
move in post-season history, Smith moved outfielder Mickey Stanley to shortstop,
allowing Kaline to play right field. Stanley performed wonderfully, committing two
harmless errors (both in Tigers victories).
In 1972 he led the aging Tigers to the post-season again, in a tight race with the Red
Sox for the AL East title. The Tigers won five straight games to clinch the division
title, which was marred by the labor strike early in the season, which left each team
with a different number of games played. In his last 44 at-bats, Kaline collected 22
hits, including the go-ahead RBI single that won the clinching game, off Luis Tiant.
Kaline retired with 3,007 hits, 399 home runs, 1,622 runs and 1,583 RBI. He or Ty Cobb
hold nearly every Tiger career batting record. After his playing career, Kaline
entered the Tigers television booth as a color commentator. He teamed with former
teammate George Kell to form a popular on-air tandem. At the same time, Kaline served
as an instructor for Tigers outfielders in spring training camps. He helped Kirk
Gibson and learn to play the outfield.
Later, Kaline was a key board member under several Tigers owners, helping to shape
team policy. In the 1990s he was critical of personnel moves made by Detroit, and in
2001 he was named by owner Mike Ilitch to a special board to help revive the
struggling franchise. The 2002 season marked his 50th as an employee of the Detroit
Tigers.
Best Season, 1955
Kaline is hard to peg. After his batting title season of '55 he had several other
great years at the plate, but he was always running into a wall or something and
missing 3-5 weeks of the season. He was Fred Lynn before Fred Lynn. After 1955 he had
two more seasons in his entire career in which he played at least 150 games,
and one of them was 1956. So a best season is difficult to determine because he never
amassed 30 homers, though he would have on at least four occasions had he stayed
healthy. In 1962, he was having his best power year when he broke his collar bone. He
had hit 29 homers and driven in 94 runs in less than 100 games. His batting averages
seem low compared to today's standards — .293, .281, .288, .308, .287, .272, .278,
.294 — in one eight-season stretch. But those figures are far more impressive when
you realize that the league he was playing in was batting between .230 and .250. His
.296 batting average for the 1960s is the best for players with at least 1,000 games.
The 1955 season saw him hit .340 and win the title at the youngest age ever. He
smacked 200 hits, leading the AL. He scored 121 runs and plated 102. Throughout his
career he was a very patient hitter, even at a young age. In 1956 his BB/K ratio was
82 to 57. He had several very good years, but his failure to play a full schedule when
he was at his best, cost him some accolades. |
Born:
December 19, 1934, Baltimore, Maryland
