By the numbers: Lou Whitaker's Hall of Fame candidacy
Former Tigers second baseman Lou Whitaker is being considered for election into the Baseball Hall of Fame, by vote of the Modern Era Committee. Whitaker must receive at least 12 votes of the committee's 16 members. Here are Whitaker's credentials.
More: Will Tigers' 'Sweet Lou' Whitaker finally get good news from Hall of Fame?
Stats and awards
Born: May 12, 1957
Drafted: Fifth round, 1975
MLB debut: Sept. 9, 1977
First MLB hit: Sept. 9, 1977, first inning single off Boston’s Reggie Cleveland
First MLB home run: July 28, 1978, walk-off, two-run shot off Seattle’s Enrique Romo at Tiger Stadium
Career: 19 seasons, 2,390 games, all with Tigers
Career earnings: $19,890,000
Rookie of the Year: 1978
All-Star: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987
Gold Glove: 1983, 1984, 1985
Silver Slugger: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987
Batting average: .276
On-base percentage: .363
Slugging percentage: .789
Hits: 2,369
Doubles: 420
Home runs: 244
Runs: 1,386
RBIs: 1,084
WAR: 75.1
Notables
►Played 1,918 games with shortstop Alan Trammell, most games played by a double-play duo in the history of the game.
►Turned 1,527 double plays, fourth most all-time by a second baseman.
►Had 6,653 assists, sixth most all-time by a second baseman.
►Peak season was 1983 -- .320/.380/.457, 206 hits, 133 OPS-plus, 6.7 WAR, Gold Glove, All-Star, Silver Slugger, finished eighth in MVP voting.
►Bounce-back season was 1991 -- After enduring the worst offensive season of his career in 1990 (.237), he hit .279 (.391 on-base) with 23 home runs, 78 RBIs and a career-best OPS-plus of 141, at age 34, in 1991. His 6.8 WAR was also a career high.
►Whitaker is one of five second baseman produce more than 200 home runs, 1,000 RBIs, 1,000 runs, 2,000 hits and 1,000 walks. The others are Rogers Hornsby, Joe Morgan, Roberto Alomar and Craig Biggio.
Top second basemen by WAR
1. Rogers Hornsby, 127
2. Eddie Collins, 124
3. Nap Lajoie, 107.4
4. Joe Morgan, 100.6
5. Rod Carew, 81.3
6. Charlie Gehringer, 80.7
7. Lou Whitaker, 75.1
Note: First six are in the Hall of Fame. Average WAR of 20 Hall of Fame second baseman is 69.4.
Top WAR of players not in Hall of Fame
1. Barry Bonds, 162.8
2. Pete Rose, 79.7
3. Bill Dahlen, 75.4
4. Lou Whitaker, 75.1
5. Larry Walker, 72.7
6. Rafael Palmeiro, 71.9
7. Bobby Grich, 71.1
8. Scott Rolen, 70.2
In the spotlight
1984 World Series: Whitaker, batting leadoff in the Tigers' 4-1 triumph over the San Diego Padres, was 5 for 18 (.409 on-base) and scored six runs. He got on base in the first inning in four of the five games – doubling in Game 1, singling in Games 2 and 5 and by error in Game 4 – and the Tigers scored 10 first-inning runs. The only game they didn’t score a first-inning was Game 3, the only game Whitaker didn’t reach in his first at-bat.
1986 All-Star Game: Whitaker hit a two-run home run off the Mets’ Dwight Gooden, igniting the American League’s 3-2 win at the Astrodome in Houston.
1987 ALCS: The Tigers lost four out of five to the Twins, and Whitaker took heat for managing just three hits in 17 at-bats. But he did hit a home run off Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven in Game 2 and drew seven walks in five games, finishing with a .417 on-base percentage.
Pitchers who hated to face Lou
(Minimum 35 plate appearances)
Steve McCatty (Oakland) – 37 PA, .485/.541/.606, 1.147 OPS
Dave Righetti (New York) – 39 PA, .452/514/.677, 1.191 OPS
Bert Blyleven (Minnesota) – 81 PA, .380/.432/.620, 1.052 OPS, 4 HR
Dave Stewart (Oakland) – 69 PA, .373/.536/.412, .948 OPS
Mike Boddicker (Baltimore) – 77 PA, .358/.429/.642, 1.070 OPS, 4 HR
Roger Clemens (Boston) – 81 PA, .338/.444/.523, .968 OPS, 3 HR
Bob Welch (Oakland) – 55 PA, .304/.389/.674, 1.063 OPS, 4 HR
Pitchers Lou hated to face
Tom Henke (Toronto) – 2 for 28, six strikeouts
Rich Honeycutt (Texas-Oakland) – 4 for 33, seven strikeouts
Tippy Martinez (Baltimore) – 3 for 22, six strikeouts
Mike Caldwell (Milwaukee) – 4 for 32, seven strikeouts
Bud Black (Kansas City-Cleveland) – 7 for 49
Bob McClure (Milwaukee) – 1 for 16, six strikeouts
Gaylord Perry (Texas-Seattle-Kansas City) – 1 for 16