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The Famous "Green Box"
What's a green box and why is it so famous? Well, just like
a baseball dugout, that's where the stories are told. The
"Green Box" appeared on the Baseball Historian web
site during our inception back in 1999 and has been holding
kangaroo court ever since. Enjoy the stories...
| Al Kaline - Detroit Tigers 1953-1974 |
| Al Kaline was signed right out of high school by the Detroit Tigers. In three years of high school baseball, Kaline batted .353, .418 and .469. The scouting report read: " showed outstanding arm, has good speed. excellent body control and has outstanding bat speed- the best player I ever scouted," Ed Katalinas. Al Kaline, age 18, made his major league debut on June 25, 1953, one day after joining the Tigers. Kaline weighted 155 lbs. He batted only 28 times his first year with one home run. The next spring, Tigers' manager Fred Hutchinson gave the right field job to Kaline. By banging into the outfield wall, Kaline played with water on the knee and a pulled thigh muscle and batted .276, with 4 homers in 504 at bats. In 1955, he showed up to spring training weighing 175 lbs and staged one of baseball's finest hitting displays at Briggs Stadium on April 17, 1955. Kaline lined 4 hits in 5 at bats including 3 HR's, with 2 in one inning. At that time, he was only the fourth major league to hit 2 homers in one inning - the last time anyone had performed this feat - was Joe DiMaggio in 1936. Kaline finished the season ( 1955 ) with 27 HR's, 121 runs scored, 102 RBI's and led in hits with 200 and also in batting .340. Al Kaline was only 20 years old, the youngest player in history to win the batting title. Kaline played his entire career with the Detroit Tigers, 1953-1974. He lined 3,007 hits in 10,116 at bats, 399 HR's with a .297 batting mark. baseballhistorian.com archives Research Dept.
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