Albert William Kaline (December 19, 1934) was a Major League Baseball player from 1953 to 1974, spending his entire career with the Detroit Tigers. For most of that career, he played in the outfield, mainly right field, where he was known for his strong throwing arm. He once threw out two Yankee baserunners at home in the same inning. Near the end of his career he played some first base. For his last season, he was the Tigers designated hitter.
In 1955 Kaline .340 for the season, becoming the youngest-ever player to win a major league batting title. A versatile and well rounded player, he won 10 Gold Gloves (1957-59 and 1961-67) for excellence in the field, and appeared in 15 All-Star games (1955-67, 1971, 1974). He was a member of the World Series championship team in 1968. In 1958, he collected an outstanding number of assists for an outfielder when collected 23 outfield assists.
Kaline finished his career with 3007 hits (24th on the all-time list) and 399 home runs (a Tigers record). He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980. He is certainly the most popular player ever to play for the Tigers.
Since retiring from the playing field, Kaline has remained active within the Tigers organization, serving first as a television announcer (1975-2002) and later as a consultant to the team.
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