by Thom W. Conroy

Created on: August 26, 2010

Every professional baseball team has it's one all-time fan favorite, and without question that player in the history of the Detroit Tigers has to be Al Kaline donned a Tigers uniform for 22 seasons with each providing thrills to Tiger's fans that will not soon be forgotten. More than just a flashy offensive threat at the plate, Kaline was a complete player that had a rare grace in the outfield and a cannon for a throwing arm, able to win games with his defensive skills. This simple fact is most evident in that of the 2,834 games that Al

Kaline played in he only committed 73 errors in the entirety of his career.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland on December 19, 1934 Al Kaline was signed by the Detroit Tigers in 1953 as an amateur and went straight to the big league club. After two average seasons in 1953 and 1954, Kaline had an outstanding 1955 campaign by hitting for a .340 batting average with 27 home runs and 102 runs batted in - in the process winning the American League batting title at the age of 20. During the course of his wonderful career Al Kaline was named to the American League All-Star team a remarkable 18 times and won 10 Gold Glove Awards as the best fielder in the league at his position.

Perhaps the highlight of Al Kaline's career came in the 1968 World Series when his contributions helped the Detroit Tigers win the championship in defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 3. In the seven games, Kaline had 11 hits, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 8 runs batted in and a .379 batting average.

Among the more consistent hitters of his generation, Kaline hit for over a .300 batting average in nine seasons, had nine seasons of at least 20 home runs, three seasons of at least 100 runs batted in and two seasons of 100 runs scored or more. The career statistics for Al Kaline - 3,007 hits, 1,622 runs scored, 498 doubles, 399 home runs, 1,593 runs batted in and a .297 batting average.

Al Kaline was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980, and had his Tiger uniform number 6 retired by the team - the first player in Tiger's history to be so honored. Since retiring  Kaline worked for over 25 years as a commentator on Detroit Tigers television games, and has served as an advisor to the Detroit Tigers organization.

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