Al Kaline, Batting Champ at 20
A kid who out-hit a league, a legend who outlasted the clock, an elbow that got a second life, and a loser who wore it proudly.
Ed. 09.25.26
Al Kaline, Batting Champ at 20 (1955)
Al Kaline went straight from high school to the Detroit Tigers, and two years later he was the best hitter in the American League. On the final day of the 1955 season he finished at .340 with 200 hits to claim the batting title at 20. Only Ty Cobb had won one that young, back in 1907, and Kaline beat him by a matter of days on the calendar. No American League batting champion has been younger since.
Satchel Paige Beats the Clock (1965)
Charlie Finley's last-place Kansas City A's needed a crowd, so he started Satchel Paige, listed at 59 and 12 years removed from his last big league game. Before the first pitch Paige sat in a bullpen rocking chair while a nurse rubbed liniment into his arm. Then he blanked the Red Sox for three innings, allowing only a Carl Yastrzemski double. When he left, the stadium lights went out, fans held up lit matches, and the crowd sang "The Old Gray Mare." Nobody older has ever played in a major league game.
Tommy John Gets a Second Career (1974)
In July 1974, Dodgers lefty Tommy John tore the ligament in his pitching elbow, an injury that had always ended careers. On this day Dr. Frank Jobe rebuilt it with a tendon from John's right arm and put his odds of pitching again at about one in a hundred. John sat out 1975, came back in 1976, and won 164 more games over 14 seasons, 40 more than he had won before. His name lives on every time a pitcher gets a second chance.
Brian Kingman's Number (1980)
Oakland lost 6-4 to the White Sox, and Brian Kingman had his 20th loss of the season. He finished 8-20 on an A's team that went 83-79. Nobody in the majors lost 20 again until 2003, which made Kingman the last 20-game loser for 23 years. He embraced it, turning up at the starts of pitchers who got close and rooting for them to win. Some numbers you chase. Some you guard.
