Al Kaline
⭐ Hall of Fame 1980
Born: 12/19/1934 in Baltimore, MD, USA
Died: 4/6/2020 in Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA
MLB Debut: 1953-06-25 | Final Game: 1974-10-02
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 175 lbs
Full name: Albert William Kaline
Biography
Al Kaline, born in 1934, was a distinguished position player in Major League Baseball, whose career spanned from 1953 to 1974. He was a stalwart for the Detroit Tigers, where he played a remarkable 2,834 games and recorded 3,007 hits, showcasing a batting average of .297. Known for his offensive prowess, Kaline belted 399 home runs and amassed 1,583 RBIs, solidifying his reputation as one of the premier hitters of his era. His ability to combine power with finesse was exemplified by his 137 stolen bases, demonstrating his versatility on the field.
Kaline's contributions to the game were recognized through his 18 All-Star selections and his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980. He played during a transformative era in baseball, marked by the integration of the sport and the emergence of new playing styles. Kaline's consistent performance and sportsmanship made him a beloved figure in Detroit and an influential role model for future generations of players. His legacy continues to resonate within the baseball community, as he remains a symbol of excellence and dedication to the game.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2834 | 10116 | 1622 | 3007 | 498 | 75 | 399 | 1583 | 137 | 1277 | 1020 | 0.297 | 0.376 | 0.480 | 0.855 | 44859.1 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | DET | AL | 30 | 28 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0.250 | 0.0 |
| 1954 | DET | AL | 138 | 504 | 42 | 139 | 18 | 3 | 4 | 43 | 9 | 22 | 45 | 0.276 | -1075.5 |
| 1955 | DET | AL | 152 | 588 | 121 | 200 | 24 | 8 | 27 | 102 | 6 | 82 | 57 | 0.340 | 4238.5 |
| 1956 | DET | AL | 153 | 617 | 96 | 194 | 32 | 10 | 27 | 128 | 7 | 70 | 55 | 0.314 | 3189.3 |
| 1957 | DET | AL | 149 | 577 | 83 | 170 | 29 | 4 | 23 | 90 | 11 | 43 | 38 | 0.295 | 1587.2 |
| 1958 | DET | AL | 146 | 543 | 84 | 170 | 34 | 7 | 16 | 85 | 7 | 54 | 47 | 0.313 | 2189.6 |
| 1959 | DET | AL | 136 | 511 | 86 | 167 | 19 | 2 | 27 | 94 | 10 | 72 | 42 | 0.327 | 3405.9 |
| 1960 | DET | AL | 147 | 551 | 77 | 153 | 29 | 4 | 15 | 68 | 19 | 65 | 47 | 0.278 | 1147.5 |
| 1961 | DET | AL | 153 | 586 | 116 | 190 | 41 | 7 | 19 | 82 | 14 | 66 | 42 | 0.324 | 3027.5 |
| 1962 | DET | AL | 100 | 398 | 78 | 121 | 16 | 6 | 29 | 94 | 4 | 47 | 39 | 0.304 | 2500.8 |
| 1963 | DET | AL | 145 | 551 | 89 | 172 | 24 | 3 | 27 | 101 | 6 | 54 | 48 | 0.312 | 3239.8 |
| 1964 | DET | AL | 146 | 525 | 77 | 154 | 31 | 5 | 17 | 68 | 4 | 75 | 51 | 0.293 | 2578.6 |
| 1965 | DET | AL | 125 | 399 | 72 | 112 | 18 | 2 | 18 | 72 | 6 | 72 | 49 | 0.281 | 2171.4 |
| 1966 | DET | AL | 142 | 479 | 85 | 138 | 29 | 1 | 29 | 88 | 5 | 81 | 66 | 0.288 | 3466.7 |
| 1967 | DET | AL | 131 | 458 | 94 | 141 | 28 | 2 | 25 | 78 | 8 | 83 | 47 | 0.308 | 3910.9 |
| 1968 | DET | AL | 102 | 327 | 49 | 94 | 14 | 1 | 10 | 53 | 6 | 55 | 39 | 0.287 | 1827.9 |
| 1969 | DET | AL | 131 | 456 | 74 | 124 | 17 | 0 | 21 | 69 | 1 | 54 | 61 | 0.272 | 1280.6 |
| 1970 | DET | AL | 131 | 467 | 64 | 130 | 24 | 4 | 16 | 71 | 2 | 77 | 49 | 0.278 | 1617.6 |
| 1971 | DET | AL | 133 | 405 | 69 | 119 | 19 | 2 | 15 | 54 | 4 | 82 | 57 | 0.294 | 2613.0 |
| 1972 | DET | AL | 106 | 278 | 46 | 87 | 11 | 2 | 10 | 32 | 1 | 28 | 33 | 0.313 | 1351.6 |
| 1973 | DET | AL | 91 | 310 | 40 | 79 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 45 | 4 | 29 | 28 | 0.255 | 45.2 |
| 1974 | DET | AL | 147 | 558 | 71 | 146 | 28 | 2 | 13 | 64 | 2 | 65 | 75 | 0.262 | 544.9 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 48 | 9 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 0.333 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | ALCS | DET | 5 | 19 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0.263 |
| 1968 | WS | DET | 7 | 29 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0.379 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 135 | 110 | 900 | 63 | 9 | 97 |
| 3B | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| OF | 2488 | 2371 | 5035 | 170 | 73 | 29 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | DET | OF | 20 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1954 | DET | OF | 135 | 133 | 283 | 16 | 9 | 0 |
| 1955 | DET | OF | 152 | 151 | 306 | 14 | 7 | 4 |
| 1956 | DET | OF | 153 | 153 | 343 | 18 | 6 | 4 |
| 1957 | DET | OF | 145 | 143 | 319 | 13 | 5 | 2 |
| 1958 | DET | OF | 145 | 143 | 316 | 23 | 2 | 4 |
| 1959 | DET | OF | 136 | 136 | 364 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 1960 | DET | OF | 142 | 142 | 367 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| 1961 | DET | 3B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961 | DET | OF | 147 | 147 | 378 | 9 | 4 | 3 |
| 1962 | DET | OF | 100 | 100 | 225 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| 1963 | DET | OF | 140 | 140 | 257 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 1964 | DET | OF | 136 | 136 | 278 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| 1965 | DET | 3B | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965 | DET | OF | 112 | 111 | 193 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 1966 | DET | OF | 136 | 136 | 279 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| 1967 | DET | OF | 130 | 127 | 217 | 14 | 4 | 2 |
| 1968 | DET | 1B | 22 | 18 | 152 | 13 | 4 | 15 |
| 1968 | DET | OF | 74 | 68 | 131 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1969 | DET | 1B | 9 | 9 | 65 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 1969 | DET | OF | 118 | 109 | 192 | 9 | 7 | 4 |
| 1970 | DET | 1B | 52 | 48 | 374 | 31 | 4 | 39 |
| 1970 | DET | OF | 91 | 75 | 156 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 1971 | DET | 1B | 5 | 2 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 1971 | DET | OF | 129 | 105 | 207 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 1972 | DET | 1B | 11 | 4 | 37 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 1972 | DET | OF | 84 | 64 | 111 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973 | DET | 1B | 36 | 29 | 245 | 12 | 1 | 32 |
| 1973 | DET | OF | 63 | 52 | 102 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 135 |
| Third Base | 2 |
| Left Field | 17 |
| Center Field | 489 |
| Right Field | 2031 |
| Designated Hitter | 146 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Player of the Month | September |
| 1973 | Roberto Clemente Award | |
| 1969 | Hutch Award | |
| 1968 | Lou Gehrig Memorial Award | |
| 1967 | Gold Glove | OF |
| 1967 | TSN All-Star | OF |
| 1966 | Gold Glove | OF |
| 1966 | TSN All-Star | OF |
| 1965 | Gold Glove | OF |
| 1964 | Gold Glove | OF |
| 1963 | Gold Glove | OF |
| 1963 | TSN All-Star | OF |
| 1963 | TSN Player of the Year | |
| 1962 | Gold Glove | OF |
| 1962 | TSN All-Star | OF |
| 1961 | Gold Glove | OF |
| 1959 | Gold Glove | CF |
| 1958 | Gold Glove | RF |
| 1957 | Gold Glove | RF |
| 1955 | TSN All-Star | OF |
| 1955 | TSN Player of the Year |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 24th | 4.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1967 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 5th | 88.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1966 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 7th | 66.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1965 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 16th | 9.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1964 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 14th | 17.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1963 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 2nd | 148.0 | 280 | 1 |
| 1962 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 6th | 58.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1961 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 9th | 35.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1959 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 6th | 84.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1958 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 20th | 5.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1957 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 10th | 40.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1956 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 3rd | 142.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1955 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 2nd | 201.0 | 336 | 4 |
| 1954 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 23th | 4.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1954 | Rookie of the Year | AL | 3rd | 1.0 | 24 | 1 |