Al Kaline

Al Kaline, one of baseball’s finest hitters and defensive outfielders whose Hall of Fame career spanned 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, died on Monday April 6 2020 at his home in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. He was 85. His son Mark confirmed the death. No specific cause was given. He became the youngest batting champion in major league history in 1955 when he hit .340 at age 20. He had 3,007 career hits, the 12th player to reach the No. 3,000 milestone, and he hit 399 home runs, a Tiger record. Renowned for his powerful arm, Kaline won 10 Gold Glove awards for his play in right field and sometimes in center. He set an American League record for outfielders by playing in 242 consecutive games without an error. He played in 2,834 games from 1953 to 1974, the most of any Tiger, and only Ty Cobb equaled his 22 years with the team. Kaline was a perennial All-Star, and in 1980 he became the 10th player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Albert William Kaline was born on Dec. 19, 1934, into a working-class family in Baltimore that was determined to see him become a major league ballplayer. His father, Nicholas, two uncles and a grandfather had been semipro catchers on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Kaline signed with the Tigers in June 1953, a few days after graduating from Southern High School in Baltimore, where he batted over .400 in three of his four seasons. He never spent a day in the minor leagues. After retiring as a player, he was a longtime commentator for the Tigers’ television broadcasts and then a special assistant in the team’s front office. In addition to his son Mike, he is survived by his wife, Madge Louise (Hamilton) Kaline; another son, Mark; and four grandchildren.