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With the exception of starting shortstop Ray Oyler, the 1968 championship team returned for the 1969 season. The 1969 Tigers followed up their 1968 championship season with a second place American League finish in the newly formed American League East.
18-time All-Star, “Mr. Tiger, Al Kaline spent his entire 22 year career with the Detroit Tigers and is considered one of the greatest hitters in baseball history and outfielder, winning 10 Gold Glove Awards and his 9th Gold Glove in 1966. He won the AL batting title early in his career, batting .340 with 200 hits in 1955, finishing that season only second to Yogi Berra for the MVP. He batted over .300 9 times and retired shortly after reaching the 3,000 hit milestone at the end of his last season (1974) with 3,007 hits.
Kaline’s performance in game 5 of the 1968 World Series against the St Louis Cardinals helped lead the Tigers when Kaline hit a bases-loaded single when trailing 2-3 in 7th inning and down 3-1 in the series. The Tigers went on to win the 1968 World Series in seven games with Kaline batting .379 with two home runs and eight RBI’s in the series.
Kaline was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980.
