Tigers legend Al Kaline dead at 85

Chris Cwik
Updated

The Detroit Tigers lost a legend. Hall of Fame outfielder and franchise icon Al Kaline died Monday, according to the Detroit Free Press. He was 85.

Kaline’s cause of death was not available.

Over 22 seasons — all with Detroit — Kaline established himself as one of the best Tigers of all time. He was selected to 18 All-Star teams throughout his career, earned 10 Gold Glove awards, won the 1955 batting title and led the Tigers to a World Series win in 1968.

During his career, Kaline played 2,834 games — all of which came with the Tigers. He notched 3,007 hits and 399 career home runs, earning himself the nickname “Mr. Tiger.”

Those accomplishments led to the Tigers retiring Kaline’s No. 6 in 1980. That same year, Kaline was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. He received 88.3 percent of the vote, and was inducted in his first year of eligibility. At that time, Kaline was only the 10th player in Major League Baseball history to make the Hall of Fame on his first ballot.

Following his retirement in 1974, Kaline joined the Tigers’ television team. After a couple decades in the broadcast booth, Kaline was named a special assistant to the Tigers in 2002. Kaline was set to continue working as a special assistant during the 2020 season.

The Tigers paid tribute to Kaline in a statement, calling Kaline a “pillar of our organization.”

Former Tigers ace Justin Verlander also honored Kaline on Monday, calling Kaline “a kind and generous man.”

James McCann, Matthew Boyd and many others wrote touching tributes to Kaline.

More from Yahoo Sports:

Originally published