Al was about 18 or 19 in this photo from his 1954 card. The following year, at age 20, he won the AL batting championship with a .340 mark. He was one day younger than Ty Cobb had been when Cobb won the batting title in 1907, making Kaline the youngest batting champion ever, a mark that has endured to this day.
“Al Kaline, who in a long and unique Detroit Tigers lifetime grew from youthful batting champion to Hall of Famer to distinguished elder statesman, died Monday afternoon at his home in Bloomfield Hills. He was 85.”
If you are a baby boomer and a baseball fan, you certainly remember him well. He never played an inning for any pro team but the Tigers, not even in the minors. He was probably the 2nd-best American leaguer of his era, behind Mickey. He never won an MVP, but he finished second twice and third once – and finished in the top ten six more times!
He is considered one of the two best defensive right fielders of his time, perhaps of all time, alongside Roberto Clemente.
Kaline had nowhere near Mickey Mantle’s power, but thanks to his consistency and a 22-year career, he managed to hit 399 lifetime homers without ever reaching 30 in a season, and in 1959 he even managed to lead the AL in slugging average, upsetting the favored Mantle.