A nice tale of a Tigers great

Posted May 30, 2010 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated May 30, 2010 at 07:47 PM

A baseball player like Al Kaline seemed too good to be true.

He never played a game in the minor leagues. He played his entire career with the Detroit Tigers, winning the American League batting title in his second full season. He was the Tigers’ first $100,000 player, but refused to take that salary the first time it was offered, claiming he did not have a good enough year to justify it. And, he never squawked when his salary was cut, and it was a few times.

Tell me a player who fits that description today. You can’t.

So expect a biography of Kaline to follow the same pattern of his storybook career in Detroit. “Al Kaline: The Biography of a Tigers Icon” (Triumph Books, $24.95) was written by Jim Hawkins, a veteran sportswriter in the Detroit area.

Hawkins paints a sentimental, positive picture of the Tigers’ Hall of Fame right fielder. But he doesn’t shy away from the rough parts of his career: the injuries, his desire to play right field exclusively, and his somewhat wary relationships with Manager Chuck Dressen and pitcher Denny McLain.

He traces Kaline’s blue collar family and his early years with the Tigers, when he shocked baseball by becoming the youngest player to win a batting title.

Hawkins then follows Kaline’s progression from star to Tigers’ icon, replaying the great pennant race of 1967 (a near miss) and the World Series year of 1968.

And finally, Kaline’s quest to reach 3,000 hits, and his career as a broadcaster.

The book’s foreword was written by longtime Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell, who died this month.

If there is a glitch in the book, it comes when Hawkins tries to draw the comparison of what Hall of Famers weren’t elected in their first year of eligibility. He erroneously includes Lou Gehrig, who was enshrined in 1939 by special election when the five-year waiting period was waived for the Yankees’ first baseman.

It’s a complete look at a player who was glorified by Tiger fans, but seemed to be unappreciated by fans away from Detroit. His election to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility is a testament to Kaline’s greatness. Hawkins gives the reader a real sense of Kaline’s talent and his humility. It’s an intimate snapshot.