DETROIT (WHTC-AM/FM) – If and when the 2020 Major League Baseball season begins, it will do so without “Mr. Tiger.”
Both of Detroit’s major metropolitan newspapers reported on Monday the passing of Al Kaline at the age of 85, citing family sources, with The Detroit News saying that he had recently suffered a stroke.
Mr. Kaline came to the Motor City from Baltimore in 1953 as a “bonus baby” straight out of high school, and under the rules of the game at the time, he had to start with the major league club. Mr. Kaline would not play a single minor-league contest, spending his entire 22-year career with Detroit. He became the youngest batting champion in history at the time two years later, and went on to amass over 3,000 hits over his career, with just one home run short of 400.
Mr. Kaline was an outstanding outfielder, winning 10 Gold Gloves, and was also known for his sportsmanship and character, epitomized by receiving the first Roberto Clemente Award in 1973. He helped the Tigers win the 1968 American League pennant and World Championship, and was also a member of the 1972 AL East Division titlists.
A first-ballot Hall-of-Fame selection in 1980, Mr. Kaline remained in the Detroit organization after his playing days, first as a television broadcaster, and then as a special consultant to the Ilitch ownership, both with the late Mike Ilitch and the current owner, Chris Ilitch.
