Al Kaline (1980)


Date of Birth: 12/19/1934
Date of Death: 4/6/2020
Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland

Al Kaline was a top pitcher at the young age of nine. In high school, he became an outfielder for his school's team. He was signed by the Detroit Tigers in June, 1953.

Detroit Tigers

Kaline began playing with the Tigers in 1953, never having played in the minor leagues. He originally played in the outfield and towards the end of his career, he moved to first base. He was the Tigers' designated hitter in his last year.

Kaline played in just 30 games with the Tigers in 1953. The next year, his first full season in the major leagues, he batted .276 with 139 hits, 18 doubles, and 43 RBIs in 138 games. He played well defensively in 1954, leading all AL right fielders in putouts with 280.

In 1955, Kaline won the Sporting News Player of the Year award and the American League batting title. He also led the league in hits. He had career highs in batting average with .340 and in hits with 200. He also had 24 doubles, 27 home runs, and 102 RBIs in 152 games. He again led AL right fielders in putouts with 306.

Kaline had career highs in games played (153) and RBIs (128) in 1956. He batted .314 with 194 hits, 32 doubles, and 27 home runs. He once more led AL right fielders in putouts with 303. The following season, he won his first of ten Gold Gloves. He finished the 1957 season with 170 hits, 29 doubles, 23 home runs, 90 RBIs, and a .295 batting average in 149 games.

Kaline batted .313 in 146 games in 1958. He had 170 hits, 34 doubles, 16 home runs, and 85 RBIs. He won his second Gold Glove and he once more led AL right fielders in putouts with 311. Although he would win eight more Gold Gloves, he only led AL right fielders in putouts one more time (1961 with 308 putouts). He won his other Gold Gloves in 1959 and 1961 through 1967.

Kaline led the AL in OPS in 1959. He had 167 hits, 19 doubles, 27 home runs, 94 RBIs, 42 strikeouts to 72 walks, and a .327 batting average in 136 games. His OPS was .940. The following season, his batting average dropped to .278. He finished the 1960 season with 153 hits, 29 doubles, a career high 19 stolen bases, and 68 RBIs in 147 games.

In 1961, Kaline led the AL in doubles with a career high of 41. He had 190 hits, 19 home runs, 82 RBIs, and a .324 batting average in a career high 153 games. He played in only 100 games in 1962, and he batted .304 with 121 hits, a career high 29 home runs, and 94 RBIs.

Kaline won his second Sporting News Player of the Year award in 1963. He finished the season with 172 hits, 24 doubles, 27 home runs, 101 RBIs, and a .312 batting average in 145 games.

Kaline's batting average dropped to .293 in 1964, and to .281 in 1965. He played in 146 games in 1964, but in only 125 games in 1965. He finished the 1964 season with 154 hits, 31 doubles, 17 home runs, and 68 RBIs. The following season, he had 112 hits, 18 doubles, 18 home runs, and 72 RBIs. In 1966, he batted .288 with 138 hits, 29 doubles, a career high 29 home runs, and 88 RBIs in 142 games.

Kaline had a good season in 1967, when he batted .308 in 131 games. He had 141 hits, 28 doubles, 25 home runs, and 78 RBIs. He walked a career high 83 times and he struck out 47 times.

Kaline won the Lou Gehrig Memorial award in 1968. That year, he batted .287 with 94 hits in 102 games. The following season, he won the Hutch award. He finished the 1969 season with 124 hits, 17 doubles, 21 home runs, 69 RBIs, and a .272 batting average in 131 games.

In 1970, Kaline batted .278 in 131 games. He had 130 hits, 24 doubles, 71 RBIs, and 49 strikeouts to 77 walks. The following season, he had 119 hits, 19 doubles, and a .294 batting average in 133 games.

Kaline's playing time was diminished in 1972 and 1973. He played in just 106 games in 1972, and he batted .313 with 87 hits. The next year, he batted only .255 with 79 hits in 91 games. He won the Roberto Clemente award in 1973.

In 1974, his final season as a major league player, Kaline batted .262 in 147 games. He had 146 hits, 28 doubles, and 64 RBIs.

Awards

  • Gold Glove (10 times)
  • Sporting News Player of the Year (2 times)
  • Lou Gehrig Memorial award
  • Roberto Clemente award
  • Hutch award

Career Statistics

Batting statistics for Kaline in 22 seasons (1953-1974) in the major leagues include:

  • 9 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 200 in 1955
  • 9 seasons with over 20 home runs, with a high of 29 in 1962 and 1966
  • 9 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .340 in 1955

Career batting statistics for Kaline include:

  • 2,834 games played
  • 3,007 hits
  • 498 doubles
  • 399 home runs
  • 137 stolen bases
  • 1,583 RBIs
  • 1,020 strikeouts to 1,277 walks
  • .297 batting average
  • .376 on-base percentage
  • .856 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Kaline as a right fielder include:

  • 2,033 games played
  • 61 errors
  • 3,869 putouts
  • .985 fielding percentage

Post Playing Career

After retiring as a player, Kaline had a long, successful career (1975-2002) as a TV commentator for the Detroit Tigers. He followed that with a position as special assistant to the CEO and general manager of the Tigers.

Kaline was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980 on the first ballot with 88.3% of the vote.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Al Kaline
ESPN - Al Kaline
Baseball Reference - Al Kaline

Back to Top