Al Kaline died today at age 85

[Larry18]

20 hours ago, ArtVanDelay said:

You forgot Lefty Grove and Home Run Baker. 

Grove played for the International league Orioles.

[SteveA]

14 minutes ago, orpheus100 said:

Memorial Stadium might also have the most recognizable looking stands ever when you see a picture of a batter at the plate.

 

Those blue seats

The seats used to match the paper the tickets were printed on.  Tickets were all printed before the season in the pre-computer era.  The lower box seats were blue so those tickets were blue.  Behind them, the terrace box seats (under the overhang) were green, so those tickets were green.

Upper deck was divided into upper box (lower rows) and upper reserve (higher rows) and those were two different shades of pink.  General admission was gold.  Can't remember the color of mezzanine seats OTTOMH.

Electronic ticketing began around 1979 and the tickets were no longer printed that way.

Imma try to dig up some old tickets stubs from the pre-Ticketron era and post pix of them here in the next couple days.

[atomic]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

Deservedly so.    But you don’t hear him mentioned much these days.    92 WAR, 29th all time.    He played in the same era as Mays, Mantle, Aaron, Robinson, Clemente and Yastrzemski.    Amazing group of outfielders who all debuted between 1951 and 1961.    There have been 16 outfielders who achieved 90+ WAR, and 7 of them debuted in an 11 year period.   

He wasn’t as good as those players.  He didn’t hit 400 home runs or hit .300 for his career.  I think he has the noteworthiness he deserves. WAR total is more length of his career than huge seasons.

[spiritof66]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

Deservedly so.    But you don’t hear him mentioned much these days.    92 WAR, 29th all time.    He played in the same era as Mays, Mantle, Aaron, Robinson, Clemente and Yastrzemski.    Amazing group of outfielders who all debuted between 1951 and 1961.    There have been 16 outfielders who achieved 90+ WAR, and 7 of them debuted in an 11 year period.   

Most of Kaline's best seasons were from 1954 through 1967. In the 50s and very early 60s, the attention of the baseball media was focused disproportionately on New York stars (OFs Willie, Mickey, Duke, later Maris), plus Williams and Musial. Aaron (until he approached the HR record), Frobby and Clemente didn't get the attention or acclaim they deserved. Yaz didn't until the triple crown/Impossible Dream in 1967. While Kaline had a real good World Series in 1968, he was a part-time player most of the year. The stars of that team were the pitchers, Cash, Freehan and Northrup.

[Frobby]

59 minutes ago, atomic said:

He wasn’t as good as those players.  He didn’t hit 400 home runs or hit .300 for his career.  I think he has the noteworthiness he deserves. WAR total is more length of his career than huge seasons.

All these guys had long careers.    Total plate appearances:

Yaz 13992

Aaron 13941

Mays 12496

Robinson 11742

Kaline 11596

Clemente 10212

Mantle 9907

Anyway, I wasn’t arguing that Kaline was as good as the others (though I’d certainly put him in Yaz’s class).      Just pointing out what a great crop of outfielders that era produced.

[LA2]

6 hours ago, spiritof66 said:

Most of Kaline's best seasons were from 1954 through 1967. In the 50s and very early 60s, the attention of the baseball media was focused disproportionately on New York stars (OFs Willie, Mickey, Duke, later Maris), plus Williams and Musial. Aaron (until he approached the HR record), Frobby and Clemente didn't get the attention or acclaim they deserved. Yaz didn't until the triple crown/Impossible Dream in 1967. While Kaline had a real good World Series in 1968, he was a part-time player most of the year. The stars of that team were the pitchers, Cash, Freehan and Northrup.

Have to include their most dangerous slugger, Willie Horton!

[DrungoHazewood]

14 hours ago, orpheus100 said:

Mezzanine were yellow. Tan yellow

Yes.  Two of my favorite games were sitting in the yellow Memorial Stadium mezzanine seats: my first game at the height of the '79 pennant race, and a few days before high school graduation when the O's beat Nolan Ryan.

[DrungoHazewood]

15 hours ago, atomic said:

He wasn’t as good as those players.  He didn’t hit 400 home runs or hit .300 for his career.  I think he has the noteworthiness he deserves. WAR total is more length of his career than huge seasons.

It's no slight to say he wasn't quite as good as a list of inner-circle HOFers.  He had 10 5+ win seasons.  Five wins is "in the MVP conversation".  10 seasons like that is 23rd of all time, ahead of Griffey, Brett, DiMaggio, Foxx, and for a couple years Trout.  And about 19,600 other major leaguers.

[atomic]

49 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

It's no slight to say he wasn't quite as good as a list of inner-circle HOFers.  He had 10 5+ win seasons.  Five wins is "in the MVP conversation".  10 seasons like that is 23rd of all time, ahead of Griffey, Brett, DiMaggio, Foxx, and for a couple years Trout.  And about 19,600 other major leaguers.

It wasn't meant to be one. Frobby is saying why isn't he as famous as those guys.  Those guys were better.  He was famous. Heard his name a lot more than a hall of famer like Luis Aparcio who was a former Oriole that is hardly even mentioned by Oriole fans.  DiMaggio played for Yankees teams that won a lot of world series and has consecutive game hitting streak. 

Joe Dimaggio was a better player than Kaline.  Really don't even know why that is debatable.  .325 career hitter.  3 time MVP who lost the prime of his career to fight in World War 2.  He was also married to Marilyn Monroe.  

Jimmie Foxx was a better player as well.  .325 hitter with 534 home runs. Back to Back MVPs.  I would say he is less heard about than Kaline.  

I am not sure why you would compare him to more recent players like Brett and Griffey JR. 

[DrungoHazewood]

3 minutes ago, atomic said:

It wasn't meant to be one. Frobby is saying why isn't he as famous as those guys.  Those guys were better.  He was famous. Heard his name a lot more than a hall of famer like Luis Aparcio who was a former Oriole that is hardly even mentioned by Oriole fans.  DiMaggio played for Yankees teams that won a lot of world series and has consecutive game hitting streak. 

Joe Dimaggio was a better player than Kaline.  Really don't even know why that is debatable.  .325 career hitter.  3 time MVP who lost the prime of his career to fight in World War 2.  He was also married to Marilyn Monroe.  

Jimmie Foxx was a better player as well.  .325 hitter with 534 home runs. Back to Back MVPs.  I would say he is less heard about than Kaline.  

I am not sure why you would compare him to more recent players like Brett and Griffey JR. 

Kaline is a lot closer to Clemente or Yaz than Aparicio.  And Aparicio only played five years in Baltimore.

[atomic]

2 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

Kaline is a lot closer to Clemente or Yaz than Aparicio.  And Aparicio only played five years in Baltimore.

Yeah so that is his place in history.  Less know than Clemente or Yaz more well known than Aparcio.  

He was more known than Goose Goslin or Earl Averill both Hall of Famers outfielders that I have never heard of. 

[DrungoHazewood]

20 minutes ago, atomic said:

Yeah so that is his place in history.  Less know than Clemente or Yaz more well known than Aparcio.  

He was more known than Goose Goslin or Earl Averill both Hall of Famers outfielders that I have never heard of. 

Goslin was a 1920s and 30s version of, I don't know... Andre Dawson or Dwight Evans or Dave Winfield.  Somewhere in there.  Had a huge home/road HR split (92/156) because Griffith Stadium was just impossible to hit homers in.  It's was like 402 to left and over 350 to RF with a huge concrete wall.

Averill's career was like Kirby Puckett, in the 30s.  Center fielder, relatively short career, marginal HOFer on career value.  Although he played three full, peak years in the PCL back when they were independent that he should probably get some extra credit for.  Which mostly accounts for him not making his MLB debut until 27.  From age 27+ Averill was worth more than Mantle, Gwynn, Kaline, Stargell, McCovey, about on par with Biggio, Thome,  Manny Ramirez.

[murph]

Just have to throw this out there,  because how often is a famous person connected to one's family....

My daughter has Kaline blood!  Ok, no directly Al Kaline's blood, but her grandmother (my mother in law) is Florence Kaline, cousin to Al Kaline.  She did have enough of a connection to the family that we did get to meet him once at OPACY when he was broadcasting for the Tigers.  He was very gracious and signed autograph's and took pictures with us.  My mother in law's family is large so it was like 20+ of us there, but still was really a unique moment that I will never forget.  And I have a picture of my daughter (she was too young to remember) with him.  We were sorry to hear of his passing. 

[Tx Oriole]

On 4/6/2020 at 4:53 PM, George said:

Kaline went from Baltimore's Southern High School in 1957 to a HOF career with the Detroit Tigers.

I remember him. 

[LA2]

On 4/8/2020 at 4:05 PM, orpheus100 said:

Even as a little kid I noticed right away how limited the leg room was in the Mezzanine. Still thought it was a unique

Mezzanine seats were cool except that you had almost no chance at catching foul balls unless they were lined too hard to catch them anyway.