Rookie of the Year: Lou Whitaker, 1978

Second Baseman, Detroit Tigers

Age:  21 (May 12)

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 5’11” Weight: 160

 

Prior to 1978:

Born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Virgina, Whitaker began playing organized baseball at 10. At Martinsville High School, he pitched and played in the infield. The Tigers selected him in the fifth round of the 1975 amateur draft as a third baseman. Initially assigned to Bristol of the Rookie-level Appalachian League, Whitaker displayed a positive attitude and impressive potential while batting .237 in 42 games. Moving up to Lakeland of the Class A Florida State League in 1976 he hit .297 and was chosen as league MVP. The Tigers decided to shift Whitaker to second base and pair him with shortstop prospect Alan Trammell during the ensuing Fall Instructional League season. The two became roommates and close friends as well as a fine keystone combination. In 1977 the duo played for Montgomery of the Class AA Southern League and Whitaker batted .280 and was selected to the league All-Star team. Given a late-season call-up to the Tigers he hit .250 in eleven games. Whitaker and Trammell took over at their respective positions in Detroit’s lineup in 1978.

1978 Season Summary

Appeared in 139 games

2B – 136, DH – 2, PH – 7, PR – 4

 

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

 

Batting

Plate Appearances – 567

At Bats – 484

Runs – 71

Hits – 138

Doubles – 12

Triples – 7 [11, tied with six others]

Home Runs – 3

RBI – 58

Bases on Balls – 61

Int. BB – 0

Strikeouts – 65

Stolen Bases – 7

Caught Stealing – 7

Average - .285

OBP - .361 [20, tied with Lou Piniella, Ron LeFlore & Don Money]

Slugging Pct. - .357

Total Bases – 173

GDP – 9

Hit by Pitches – 1

Sac Hits – 13 [13, tied with Bob Randall & Robin Yount]

Sac Flies – 8 [9, tied with five others]

 

Midseason snapshot: 3B – 2, HR – 0, RBI – 21, SB – 6, AVG - .317, , OBP - .358

 

---

 

Most hits, game – 3 on eight occasions

Longest hitting streak – 12 games

Most HR, game – 1 (in 4 AB) vs. Seattle 7/28, (in 4 AB) at Chi. White Sox 8/13, (in 4 AB) vs. Boston 9/20

HR at home – 2

HR on road – 1

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 3 on six occasions

Pinch-hitting/running – 3 of 6 (.500) with 2 R, 1 BB & 1 RBI

 

Fielding

Chances – 776

Put Outs – 301

Assists – 458

Errors – 17

DP - 95

Pct. - .978

 

Awards & Honors:

AL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

 

AL ROY Voting:

Lou Whitaker, Det.: 21 of 28 votes, 75% share

Paul Molitor, Mil.: 3 votes, 11% share

Carney Lansford, Cal.: 2 votes, 7% share

Rich Gale, KC: 1 pt. – 1 vote, 4% share

Alan Trammell, Det.: 1 vote, 4% share

 

---

Tigers went 86-76 to finish fifth in the AL Eastern Division, 13.5 games behind the division-winning New York Yankees.

 

Aftermath of ‘78:

The Detroit fans were quick to take up the “Looou” chant whenever Whitaker came to bat and he followed up with another solid performance, at bat and in the field, in 1979, batting .286 with 8 triples and 20 stolen bases while cutting his errors to 9. Whitaker had an off-year at the bat in 1980, hitting just .233, although his fielding percentage was a solid .985 and he committed just 12 errors. Hindered by a leg injury during the strike-interrupted 1981 season, “Sweet Lou” batted .263 with 5 home runs and 36 RBIs. Whitaker experienced a power surge in 1982 as his home runs rose to 15 to go along with 8 triples and 65 RBIs while he moved into the leadoff spot by midseason. In the field he led all AL second basemen with 470 assists, 120 double plays, and a .988 fielding percentage. The Tigers finished second in the AL East in 1983 while Whitaker was an All-Star for the first time on his way to hitting .320 with 206 hits, 40 doubles, 12 home runs, and 72 RBIs. He also received his first Gold Glove for his defensive excellence. Detroit won the division and the AL pennant in 1984 with Whitaker contributing a .289 average along with 90 runs scored, 13 home runs, and 56 RBIs. He hit .278 in the five-game World Series triumph over the San Diego Padres. In spring training of 1985 manager Sparky Anderson flirted with the idea of shifting Whitaker to third base, which he later reconsidered. “Sweet Lou” got off to a fast start during the season and was batting .368 by mid-May before tailing off and finishing at .279 with 21 home runs and 73 RBIs. In 1986 he hit .269 with 20 home runs and 73 RBIs. The Tigers returned to the top of the AL East in 1987 and Whitaker contributed 110 runs scored, 38 doubles, 6 triples, 16 home runs, and 59 RBIs to go along with a .265 batting average and .341 OBP. A knee injury suffered while dancing with his wife at an anniversary party limited Whitaker to 115 games in 1988 and a .275 average with 12 home runs and 55 RBIs. Batting third with the last-place Tigers in 1989, Whitaker slugged a career-high 28 home runs while batting .251 with 85 RBIs. He hit more for power than average in 1990, ’91, and ’92 and his playing time dropped off in 1993, ’94, and ’95, after which he retired. For his major league career, spent entirely with Detroit, he batted .276 with 2369 hits that included 420 doubles, 65 triples, and 244 home runs. Whitaker also scored 1386 runs and compiled 1084 RBIs and 143 stolen bases. Appearing in 13 postseason games, he hit .204 with one home run. A five-time All-Star, Whitaker also received three Gold Gloves and four Silver Sluggers. Among the franchise leaders in all-time defensive categories at second base, he finished first in double plays by participating in 1527. He and Alan Trammell ended up playing together in a total of 1918 games.

 

--

Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.