You all thought the election for the greatest Tiger ever to set foot in right field would be a shoe-in didn’t you? Who came close to Al Kaline, great hitter, fantastic fielder and darn nice guy?
I’ll tell you who, and it will force you to think about your choice: unfortunately, you never saw him play unless you are a hundred years old. “Wahoo” Sam Crawford was such an awesome hitter, he hit clean up behind Cobb.
It’s truly hard for us to get to know players from the deadball era, but Wahoo posted some incredible numbers, with 2,961 hits, and a .306 lifetime average over 13 years, mostly with the Tigers.
Ed Barrow, who managed Crawford for his first few years as a Tiger (and later went to the Yankees front office, and move a pitcher named Ruth to the outfield) said there was never a better hitter. (Remember, this guy saw Cobb, Ruth, and many other legends.)
One indication of his hitting prowess in the deadball era is that Crawford still has career records for triples (312) and inside the park homers (12) (Granderson might take a few years to catch him.)
When Ty Cobb first hit the big leagues, he looked up to Crawford as something of a mentor, but in following years friction between the two stars eroded their friendship. (Are we liking Sam more all of a sudden?)
Late in life, Sam retired to a very quiet, almost reclusive life in California, citing Balzac and Santayana to the rare interviewer.
The Tigers retired his number in 2000.
I’ll tell you who, and it will force you to think about your choice: unfortunately, you never saw him play unless you are a hundred years old. “Wahoo” Sam Crawford was such an awesome hitter, he hit clean up behind Cobb.
It’s truly hard for us to get to know players from the deadball era, but Wahoo posted some incredible numbers, with 2,961 hits, and a .306 lifetime average over 13 years, mostly with the Tigers.Ed Barrow, who managed Crawford for his first few years as a Tiger (and later went to the Yankees front office, and move a pitcher named Ruth to the outfield) said there was never a better hitter. (Remember, this guy saw Cobb, Ruth, and many other legends.)
One indication of his hitting prowess in the deadball era is that Crawford still has career records for triples (312) and inside the park homers (12) (Granderson might take a few years to catch him.)
When Ty Cobb first hit the big leagues, he looked up to Crawford as something of a mentor, but in following years friction between the two stars eroded their friendship. (Are we liking Sam more all of a sudden?)
Late in life, Sam retired to a very quiet, almost reclusive life in California, citing Balzac and Santayana to the rare interviewer.
The Tigers retired his number in 2000.
Harry Heilmann, who we nominated at first base, was almost as good. he played with Cobb and Crawford early in his career, and continued for 17 years, 15 with the Tigers. What makes him a tough call is that he played some at first, and early last century, scorers did not always record what outfield position he played. I can count 1,127 out of his more than 2,000 game career in right with the Tigers. His awesome stats are recounted below under his firstbase nomination, but let's just note he hit .342 lifetime with a .520 slugging percentage. Imagine being a pitcher facing him, Cobb and Crawford in the same lineup!
But our Man, Mr. Tiger, Number 6, Al Kaline, was a pretty fine ballplayer too. Straight out of high school he came to the Tigers, and was the youngest man to win a batting title (one day younger than Cobb.)
The list of his accomplishments is going to read like a phone book, but let’s try: 15 All Star teams, 10 Gold Gloves, (including 242 consecutive games without an error,) 399 home runs, 3,007 base hits, was only the second man to homer twice in the same innning, (DiMaggio did it first) and once threw out two runners in one inning.
Foolish was the base runner who tried to tag up and take second on the Kaline Cannon, and he was almost as deadly to third.
In a sports-to-real-life analogy, our Dads all told us to emulate Kaline’s work ethic – in 22 years he played in 2,771 games. Reflective of the times, he didn’t post Cobb-like averages, but as an all-around player, few excelled him.
And perhaps what we love about him most is his approachability. "Fans?
All you have to do is smile at 'em and say, 'hi' and shake their hands. They're satisfied." He might have been born in Baltimore, but he’s Detroit working class through and through.
But our Man, Mr. Tiger, Number 6, Al Kaline, was a pretty fine ballplayer too. Straight out of high school he came to the Tigers, and was the youngest man to win a batting title (one day younger than Cobb.)
The list of his accomplishments is going to read like a phone book, but let’s try: 15 All Star teams, 10 Gold Gloves, (including 242 consecutive games without an error,) 399 home runs, 3,007 base hits, was only the second man to homer twice in the same innning, (DiMaggio did it first) and once threw out two runners in one inning.
Foolish was the base runner who tried to tag up and take second on the Kaline Cannon, and he was almost as deadly to third.
In a sports-to-real-life analogy, our Dads all told us to emulate Kaline’s work ethic – in 22 years he played in 2,771 games. Reflective of the times, he didn’t post Cobb-like averages, but as an all-around player, few excelled him.
And perhaps what we love about him most is his approachability. "Fans?
All you have to do is smile at 'em and say, 'hi' and shake their hands. They're satisfied." He might have been born in Baltimore, but he’s Detroit working class through and through.(Autographed Al Kaline jersey and a complete collection of his baseball cards, as shown from the "private stock" of Chuck Piotrowski.)
Too bad that while Kirk Gibson played most of 11 years in Detroit and only one in L.A., he’s generally remembered outside of Michigan for the home run he hit in the 1988 World Series for the Dodgers. (ALERT ! _ link to “home run” to see our first video on “At the Corner.”) Gibson was only a Tiger from 1979 to 1987, and then again from ’93 to 95, but his gamer atitude endeared him to fans forever. (Let's remember Kirk as one of our potential nominees for DH.)
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