Hail and farewell, Al Kaline; a long and remarkable life in the game. Al Kaline, Detroit Tigers legend, dies at age 85 https://t.co/UY01QzI8F4 via @freep
— John Thorn (@thorn_john) April 6, 2020
Kaline, a Baltimore native, joined the Tigers as an 18-year-old in 1953. He won the American League batting title in 1955, his second full season, leading the league with 200 hits while batting .340. Kaline never played a day in the minor leagues.
In 22 seasons with the Tigers, mostly playing right field, "Mr.Tiger" collected 3,007 hits and hit 399 home runs. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980. Kaline was an 18-time All-Star selection and made it to the World Series in 1968, when Detroit rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to win the Fall Classic in seven games.
RIP to Al Kaline. 🐅 pic.twitter.com/SQcb6134RR
— Jed (@TigersJUK) 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
Kaline made his major league debut as a pinch-hitter June 25, 1953, against the Philadelphia Athletics at Connie Mack Stadium. He did not start a game until three months later, The Detroit News reported.
Tigers' great Al Kaline died today at age 85. An 18-time All-Star and a 10-time Gold Glove winner, Kaline retired shortly after recording his 3,000th hit in 1974 and joined the Tigers' broadcasting team.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 6, 2020
"It was a dog-eat-dog world back then among players," Kaline told The News in 2014. "When I first joined the team, I was looked down on, because I was an 18-year-old kid taking a veteran's job away from him.
“So a lot of guys were thinking, ‘What the hell is going on here?’ It’s true, I had a guy grab me my first day in uniform, saying he didn’t want me around.”
Al Kaline was one of the best who ever played.
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) April 6, 2020
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
Kaline batted over .300 11 times and finished with a .297 career average. He also won 10 Gold Gloves.
The Tigers retired Kaline's No. 6, one of nine players in Detroit to have their uniforms retired. He is one of six men to have a statue at Detroit's Comerica Park, the News reported.
After retiring in 1975, Kaline joined the Tigers' television broadcast team as an analyst the following year, the Free Press reported. He joined the Tigers' front office as an assistant in 2002.
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