Al Kaline

On this date in 1980, Al Kaline is elected into the Hall of Fame.

"Mr. Perfection." - Billy Martin

Al Kaline

On this date in 1974, Al Kaline retires with 3007 hits and 399 home runs.

"If you think you can hit, two strikes won't mean anything to you."

Al Kaline

On this date in 1974, Al Kaline collects his 3000th career hit.

"The kid murders you with his speed and arm. He's made some catches I still don't believe. I sort of hate to think what'll happen when he grows up." - Casey Stengel

Al Kaline

On this date in 1980, the Tigers retire Al Kaline's uniform number 6.

"No, he did not, he was a gentleman. It would have to be a real borderline pitch for him to even turn his head." - umpire Larry McCoy when asked if Kaline argued any of his calls

Al Kaline

Born on this date, Al Kaline.

"Mr. Perfection." - Billy Martin

Sixto Lezcano

Born on today's date, Sixto Lezcano.

I remember Sixto Lezcano. Yes, I remember.

You see, when we were kids, we played pickup baseball all summer. LIKE ALL SUMMER. Every day. Actually that movie, "The Sandlot" is a pretty good representation of one young teenage boy's life on the south side of Warren, Michigan in the early 1970's. We played at Ridgewood Field and started in the morning, came home for lunch, went back and played until dinner and sometimes went back after dinner and played until dark.

Now during these very important games, prior to stepping to the plate, we would typically announce who we "were", be that Mickey Stanley, Rusty Staub, Ron Leflore or even the immortal Al Kaline.

Just to shake things up, sometimes when I came to the plate, the player introductions would go something like this:

"Now batting, Sixto Lezcano.

Who?

Sixto Lezcano. Pitch the ball!

He is not even on the Tigers, I think.

Pitch the ball!"

Now the result of that at-bat could be anything from a weak pop up to the catcher or a long fly ball over the fence into the neighbor's pool. That said, I know I hit better as "Sixto Lezcano" than any other major league player; and this includes Tigers. I don't know why. The ball just looked so much bigger to "Sixto Lezcano". I can't explain it to this day. This was probably dumb luck no doubt but it sure seemed like something unexplained was going on there.

Now Sixto Lezcano in "real life" was a slap hitter and averaged only 11 home runs a year throughout his 13 year major league career. That is "real life". At Ridgewood Field, all those years ago, "Sixto Lezcano" was a beast. The guy could rake. Kids swimming in that pool beyond the fence were just not safe when "Sixto Lezcano" came to the plate. The Sandlot had that mean old dog and we had the pool (but truth be told the kids over there usually just threw the ball back without a problem). Anyway, I don't remember much about his fielding skills but "Sixto Lezcano" probably batted like .600 during his career at Ridgewood Field and if those houses were closer, probably would have broke more than his share of windows. The guy could bring it. And not even a Tiger!

So from one "Sixto" to another, I offer a hearty "Happy Birthday" to my inspirational friend, Sixto Lezcano! 

Did you know that Al Kaline and B.J. Upton have the same number of career strikeouts?

And Upton is considered to be a "good" player.

Carry on.

Al Kaline

On this date in 1974, Al Kaline retires with 3007 hits and 399 home runs.

"If you think you can hit, two strikes won't mean anything to you."

Al Kaline

On this date in 1980, the Tigers retire Al Kaline's uniform number 6.

"No, he did not, he was a gentleman. It would have to be a real borderline pitch for him to even turn his head." - umpire Larry McCoy when asked if Kaline argued any of his calls

Al Kaline

On this date in 1980, Al Kaline is inducted into the Hall of Fame.

"Al Kaline played his first full season with the Detroit Tigers in 1953 at the age of 18 years old. I was 12 years old at the time and my buddies and I found out that the new rookie, Al Kaline, had moved to Oak Park and lived a couple blocks from me. Of course, we were huge Tiger fans so we'd ride our bikes by his house several times a day, hoping to see him. We also made sure we had our ball gloves and a baseball or two with us.

One day, we saw him in his front yard and we asked him if he'd play catch with us. He did so for about 15 minutes and it was definitely a special day in my young life. We were in awe of him but he was so nice and also kind of shy so we liked him that much more." - Dam McKane, Canton, Michigan (Detroit Free Press)

Al Kaline

On this date in 1980, Al Kaline is elected to the Hall of Fame.

"The kid murders you with his speed and arm. He's made some catches I still don't believe. I sort of hate to think what'll happen when he grows up." - Casey Stengel

Al Kaline

On this date in 1974, Al Kaline announces his retirement after 3007 hits and 399 home runs.

"No; he did not, he was a gentleman. It would have to be a real borderline pitch for him to even turn his head." - umpire Larry McCoy when asked if Kaline argued any of his calls.

Al Kaline

On this date in 1955, Al Kaline becomes the youngest batting champ in history as he wins the American League crown at age 20.

"If you think you can hit, two strikes won't mean anything to you."

Al Kaline

On this date in 1980, the Tigers retire Al Kaline's uniform number 6.

"The kid murders you with his speed and arm. He's made some catches I still don't believe. I sort of hate to think what'll happen when he grows up." - Casey Stengel (1955)

Al Kaline

On this date in 1980, Al Kaline is inducted into the Hall of Fame.

"I was very very shocked about Cooperstown. I thought my chances were fairly good, but I tried to stay low key about it, not get too high and not too low. That was the way I played too."

Al Kaline - Detrot icon

Saturday was Al Kaline's 75th birthday and to mark the occasion, the Detroit Free Press asked it's readers to forward some of their memories of this Detroit icon.

To back up a bit, growing up in Detroit in the 1960's and 1970's, I can tell you that Al Kaline literally was thought of as a god and baseball here started and ended with Al Kaline. Yes, the Tigers had other beloved players like Willie Horton, Bill Freehan, Norm Cash etc but Al Kaline was #1 in the Tiger pantheon with #2 nowhere close to him. It would be hard to describe to an outsider just how iconic Al Kaline was (and to some extent still is) in this town.

Nationally, everybody knows the great stars from the large markets like New York (and by extension Brooklyn), Chicago and Los Angeles but the smaller markets had their heroes as well. St. Louis had Stan Musial, Pittsburgh had Roberto Clemente and a friend of mine from Philadelphia told me that unless you are from Philly, you cannot appreciate how much Richie Ashburn is loved there. I believe it because we experienced something like that with Al Kaline, a player who is not revered nationally.

I could go on and on about Al Kaline but I will just say that Kaline is still employed by the Tigers and is a regular at the ballpark. He is a humble "man of the people" and is quite approachable and while I am sure that it has happened once or twice, I can't see him refusing an autograph for a fan. I don't think I have ever heard a negative word about Al Kaline. I will leave it at that.

Well, anyway back to the fan's memories of Kaline as submitted to the paper. All were good and many spoke of Al's openness and kindness with the fans but one submission stood out for me above the rest.

Here it is:

"Al Kaline played his first full season with the Detroit Tigers in 1953 at the age of 18 years old. I was 12 years old at the time and my buddies and I found out that the new rookie, Al Kaline, had moved to Oak Park and lived a couple blocks from me. Of course, we were huge Tiger fans so we'd ride our bikes by his house several times a day, hoping to see him. We also made sure we had our ball gloves and a baseball or two with us.

One day we saw him in his front yard and we asked him if he'd play catch with us. He did so for about 15 minutes and it was definitely a special day in my young life. We were in awe of him but he was so nice and also kind of shy so we liked him that much more.

Happy 75th birthday, Al.

Wanna play catch?

Dan McKane, Canton"

I bet that he would still do it today.

Al Kaline? All ours.