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Beloved
Tigers
star,
Hall of
Famer Al
Kaline
dies at
85
By
JIM
IRWIN
and
NOAH
TRISTER
apnews.com
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.”
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