You May Not Know His Name, but This Tiger Really Plays the Game

For as low a profile as Detroit Tiger second baseman Lou Whitaker maintains, you’d think his nickname would be “Sweet Who?” instead of “Sweet Lou.”

A regular Clark Kent in baseball cleats, Whitaker is a mild-mannered infielder for a great metropolitan baseball team.

Mild-mannered, that is, until he steps up to the plate, after which he becomes a Tiger on a tear.

Whitaker came into the American League in 1978 with a splash, winning Rookie of the Year honors after hitting .285. Since then, he has earned a reputation as one of the best all-around second basemen in the game.

He’s still not exactly a household name, but he has enjoyed a measure of national prominence by hitting .278 in the 1984 World Series as well as hitting a home run off Dwight Gooden to help the American League win the All-Star game, 3-2, earlier this summer in Houston.

Does this overall lack of national recognition bother Whitaker, who has long been a crowd favorite in Detroit?

Not especially, it seems.

“As long as they know you in your own town, that’s all that really matters,” Whitaker said before the Tigers met the Angels at Anaheim Stadium Friday night.

“It’s a funny thing about being recognized, because when we play in a place like Anaheim there always seems to be a lot of people in the crowd who moved out here from Michigan, so we hear some cheers on the road, too.”

“Overall, I think I’ve gotten my due. I feel comfortable about myself and the way things have gone in my career, especially after we won the World Series and the home run in the All-Star game.”

According to Whitaker, the cheers he enjoys most are those he gets from his daughters, Asia, 5, and Sarah, who will be 2 in October.

Sarah Whitaker was born on Oct. 14, 1984, which proved to be a busy day for the senior Whitaker because the Tigers were playing their fifth game against the San Diego Padres in the World Series.

Whitaker went from facing his wife’s delivery to facing Goose Gossage’s delivery with only a pregnant pause in between.

“I was there with Crystal when she had her baby in the morning, and in the afternoon we were playing the game at the stadium,” Whitaker said of the Tigers’ 8-4 Series-clinching victory.

Asked whether he had thought his daughter’s birth an omen for victory, Whitaker just smiled, laughed and noted that his wife is expecting again and is due in September this time.

Although he has a reputation for being consistent and low-key, by most accounts this Tiger has some teeth.

Angel second baseman Bobby Grich, who has seen his share of second basemen in his 15-year American League career, said: “He’s got a real casual style, but don’t let that fool you--he’s an intense competitor. The players around the league really respect him.

“He’s just an excellent lead-off man and he can beat you in more ways than one: He can pop the home run, line a double to right, bunt to get on and steal a base once he gets there. That’s a lot of offense.”

Whitaker even threw Grich out at second base on an overthrown ball at first base that Whitaker backed up Friday night.

Such play in the field and at the plate comes as no surprise to Detroit Manager Sparky Anderson.

“I think he’s the best all-around second baseman in the game today, when you add up everything on both offense and defense,” Anderson said. “He’s the kind of player you just leave alone and let him play.

“He leads off, but because of his power he’s still going to get you 20 home runs and 70 to 80 RBIs every year.

“And as far as that other stuff (publicity) goes, well, he just doesn’t care about it. Baseball people know what he can do. To a manager, he’s just an ideal player to have on the team.”