| Lou Whitaker | |
|---|---|
 Whitaker with the Detroit Tigers in 1987 | |
| Second baseman | |
| Born: May 12, 1957 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 9, 1977, for the Detroit Tigers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 1, 1995, for the Detroit Tigers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .276 |
| Home runs | 244 |
| Hits | 2,369 |
| Runs batted in | 1,084 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Louis Rodman Whitaker Jr. (born May 12, 1957), nicknamed "Sweet Lou", is an American former professional baseball second baseman. Whitaker spent his entire career with the Detroit Tigers. From 1977 to 1995, he appeared in 2,390 games for the Tigers, third most in franchise history behind Ty Cobb and Al Kaline. He helped the Tigers win the 1984 World Series, was selected as an American League All-Star five consecutive years (1983–1987) and won four Silver Slugger Awards (1983–1985, 1987) and three Gold Glove Awards (1983–1985). The Tigers retired his No. 1 jersey in August 2022.
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Virginia, Whitaker was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 1975. He spent three years in the minor leagues and was selected in 1976 as the most valuable player in the Florida State League. He made his Major League Baseball debut in September 1977 and won the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 1978. Whitaker won the Tiger of the Year award in 1983 after hitting .320 and tallying 206 hits. He repeated as Tiger of the Year in 1989 when he hit a career-high 28 home runs.
Whitaker and shortstop Alan Trammell played beside each other for 19 seasons and are the longest-running double play combination in major-league history. Whitaker was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
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