Books and articles about Lou Whitaker

With Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker formed a keystone combination of longevity unsurpassed in baseball history. Yet, Whitaker was in sharp contrast to Trammell. Whitaker's seemingly effortless play left him open to criticism. Expectations for the Brooklyn, New York native were sparked when he was 1976 Most Valuable Player in the Florida State League as a third baseman. He moved to second at Montgomery (Southern League) in 1977 and began his partnership with Trammell. Less than a year senior to the shortstop, Whitaker had the flashier debut in 1978, winning Rookie of the Year honors. He did not immediately improve and was a disappointment until the middle of 1982. A strong finish gave him his best season to that point. Lou was Tiger of the Year in 1983, Detroit's first lefthanded hitter with 200 hits since 1943, and a contender for the batting title. Like Trammell, Whitaker's power improved with maturity. He set a record for Detroit second basemen with 21 home runs in 1985 and was part of the all-20-homer infield in 1986. In spring training of 1985, Sparky Anderson briefly moved him to third base in favor of rookie Chris Pittaro. The experiment came to a quick end. Whitaker was Anderson's leadoff batter until being moved to the number-two slot in 1988. From his rookie season through 1988, he never played on a losing team. But his best season was wasted on the last-place 1989 team.

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After a decade with the Tigers, Lou Whitaker is drawing comparisons to Detroit's Hall of Fame second baseman, Charlie Gehringer. Whitaker is among Detroit's all-time leaders in doubles, runs scored, and hits. (ME)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » September 9, 1977: In the second game of a doubleheader loss in Boston, Tiger rookies Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell debut together. They will hold down the 2B and SS jobs in Detroit for a record 19 years. Boston prevails today, 5–1 and 8–6. » September 20, 1978: The Red Sox collect six hits -- 4 by Jerry Remy -- off Dave Rozema but the Tigers clobber Boston, 12–2. Lou Whitaker and Rusty Staub both have 3-run homers to lead Detroit's 15-hit attack. The Sox loss, combined with the Yankees split with Toronto, leaves New York two games in front with 10 games to go. » November 22, 1978: 2B Lou Whitaker, who batted .285 for the Tigers, wins the American League Rookie of the Year, receiving 21 of 28 votes. » April 21, 1984: At home before 34,395 fans, the Tigers beat the White Sox 4–1, ending LaMarr Hoyt's personal 15-game winning streak. Dave Rozema pitches six shut out innings for the win, while Lou Whitaker has a homer and three runs scored. » July 5, 1984: Down 4–1 with two outs in the 9th, the visiting Tigers score six runs to beat the Rangers, 7–4. Lou Whitaker's bases loaded single scores two, Alan Trammell's single scores another, and Kirk Gibson seals it with a three run shot down the RF line. Charlie Hough is the loser, while reliever Aurelio Lopez goes 7–0. » July 13, 1984: At Minnesota, Detroit tops the Twins, 5–3, when Lou Whitaker bloops an inside the park homer to win it. Detroit sends it to extra innings when RF Kirk Gibson throws out Tim Teufel at home with two out in the 9th. Willie Hernandez (5–0) is the winner. » November 27, 1984: The 1984 American League Gold Glove team is announced, and it is made up of the same nine players as the 1983 team: catcher Lance Parrish, 1B Eddie Murray, 2B Lou Whitaker, 3B Buddy Bell, SS Alan Trammell, outfielders Dwight Evans, Dave Winfield, and Dwayne Murphy, and pitcher Ron Guidry. » August 5, 1986: After Detroit wins the opener, 6–5, game two starts off with Detroit's first two hitters -- Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell -- belting homers off Cleveland's Jose Roman. It is the 3rd time in a month this has occurred. Whitaker hits another as Detroit wins the shootout, 11–9. » September 28, 1991: The 10th inning proves deadly for pitchers: Detroit's Lou Whitaker hits a 3-run double off Greg Olson to give the Tigers a 5–4 win over the Orioles; Dean Palmer cracks a 3-run homer off Dennis Eckersley to give Texas a 6–3 victory over the Athletics. » May 4, 1994: Detroit 2B Lou Whitaker drives in seven runs in the Tigers' 14-7 win over the Rangers. He strokes a 3-run home run in the 3rd inning, and a grand slam in the 8th. » May 28, 1995: In a 14–12 White Sox win, the Tigers and Chicago combine to hit 12 home runs—7 by the Tigers—and 21 extra-base hits to set a major league and American League mark, respectively. The 2-teams combine to set a ML for extra bases on long hits (45), with Detroit contributing 24. The Sox start rookie James Baldwin (25 hits, 15 runs in 13.1 innings) and Detroit remainders him with a leadoff home run by Chad Curtis, a walk, single and 3-run homer by Cecil Fielder. Curtis and Fielder each homer in the 2nd to finish the rookie. The Sox sink David Wells with successive homers in the 4th by Durham, Karkovice, and Grebeck. Cecil Fielder, Chad Curtis, Kirk Gibson, and Ron Karkovice each homer twice, setting another AL mark for the most players with two home runs in a game. Ray Durham, Craig Grebeck, Frank Thomas, and Lou Whitaker also connect for 4-baggers. Detroit's Danny Bautista, anxious to join the home run derby, fans five times (on 18 pitches) in six at bats to tie another mark for a nine inning game » August 30, 1995: Tiger teammates Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell tie an American League record by playing in their 1,914th game together, a 10–7 loss to the White Sox. The record was set by KC's George Brett and 2B Frank White.