Lou Whitaker Stats

Lou Whitaker was born on Sunday, May 12, 1957, in Brooklyn, New York. Whitaker was 20 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 9, 1977, with the Detroit Tigers. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Lou Whitaker baseball stats page.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"His career numbers look attractive by second-base standards. But it's hard to remember any period when (Lou) Whitaker was looked upon as the greatest second baseman of his era. 'Just' a very good player. There's no shame in that." - Stark, Jayson. ESPN Analyst. My Hall of Fame Ballot. 19 November 2003. [Lou Whitaker Quotes]

Lou Whitaker

Lou Whitaker Autograph on a 1989 Fleer Baseball Card (#151)

Lou Whitaker Autograph on a 1989 Fleer Baseball Card (#151)

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Birth Name:   Louis Rodman Whitaker
Nickname:   Lou or Sweet Lou
Born On:   05-12-1957  (Taurus)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Brooklyn, New York
Year of Death Data Died On:   Still Living (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Still Living
Cemetery:   n/a
High School:   Martinsville High School (Martinsville, VA)
College:   None Attended
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Left   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   5-11   Player Weight Chart Weight:   160
First Game:   09-09-1977 (Age 20)
Last Game:   10-01-1995
Draft:   1975 : 5th Round (99th)

Lou Whitaker

Lou Whitaker Pitching Stats

- - Did Not Pitch - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lou Whitaker

Lou Whitaker Hitting Stats

1977 20 Tigers 11 32 5 8 1 0 0 0 2 4 0 6 1 0 0 0 .250 .333 .281
1978 21 Tigers 139 484 71 138 12 7 3 0 58 61 0 65 13 8 1 9 .285 .361 .357
1979 22 Tigers 127 423 75 121 14 8 3 0 42 78 2 66 14 4 1 10 .286 .395 .378
1980 23 Tigers 145 477 68 111 19 1 1 0 45 73 0 79 12 6 0 9 .233 .331 .283
1981 24 Tigers 109 335 48 88 14 4 5 0 36 40 3 42 3 3 1 5 .263 .340 .373
1982 25 Tigers 152 560 76 160 22 8 15 0 65 48 4 58 6 4 1 8 .286 .341 .434
1983 26 Tigers 161 643 94 206 40 6 12 0 72 67 8 70 2 8 0 9 .320 .380 .457
1984 27 Tigers 143 558 90 161 25 1 13 1 56 62 5 63 4 5 0 9 .289 .357 .407
1985 28 Tigers 152 609 102 170 29 8 21 0 73 80 9 56 5 5 2 3 .279 .362 .456
1986 29 Tigers 144 584 95 157 26 6 20 0 73 63 5 70 0 4 0 20 .269 .338 .437
1987 30 Tigers 149 604 110 160 38 6 16 0 59 71 2 108 4 4 1 5 .265 .341 .427
1988 31 Tigers 115 403 54 111 18 2 12 0 55 66 5 61 6 2 0 8 .275 .376 .419
1989 32 Tigers 148 509 77 128 21 1 28 0 85 89 6 59 1 9 3 7 .251 .361 .462
1990 33 Tigers 132 472 75 112 22 2 18 0 60 74 7 71 1 5 0 10 .237 .338 .407
1991 34 Tigers 138 470 94 131 26 2 23 0 78 90 6 45 2 8 2 3 .279 .391 .489
1992 35 Tigers 130 453 77 126 26 0 19 1 71 81 5 46 5 4 1 9 .278 .386 .461
1993 36 Tigers 119 383 72 111 32 1 9 0 67 78 4 46 7 4 4 5 .290 .412 .449
1994 37 Tigers 92 322 67 97 21 2 12 2 43 41 4 47 3 5 1 8 .301 .377 .491
1995 38 Tigers 84 249 36 73 14 0 14 0 44 31 4 41 0 3 2 6 .293 .372 .518
19 Years 2,390 8,570 1,386 2,369 420 65 244 4 1,084 1,197 79 1,099 89 91 20 143 .276 .363 .426

Lou Whitaker

Lou Whitaker Fielding Stats

1977 Tigers 2B 9 9 222 35 3.9 35 17 18 0 2 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 4.26
1978 Tigers 2B 136 123 3,367 776 5.7 759 301 458 17 95 n/a n/a n/a .978 6.09
1979 Tigers 2B 126 114 3,052 658 5.2 649 280 369 9 103 n/a n/a n/a .986 5.74
1980 Tigers 2B 143 130 3,600 780 5.5 768 340 428 12 93 n/a n/a n/a .985 5.76
1981 Tigers 2B 108 104 2,755 590 5.5 581 227 354 9 77 n/a n/a n/a .985 5.69
1982 Tigers 2B 149 143 3,849 811 5.4 801 331 470 10 120 n/a n/a n/a .988 5.62
1983 Tigers 2B 160 151 4,074 759 4.7 746 299 447 13 92 n/a n/a n/a .983 4.94
1984 Tigers 2B 142 131 3,585 710 5.0 695 290 405 15 83 n/a n/a n/a .979 5.23
1985 Tigers 2B 150 146 3,923 739 4.9 728 314 414 11 101 n/a n/a n/a .985 5.01
1986 Tigers 2B 141 136 3,622 708 5.0 697 276 421 11 98 n/a n/a n/a .984 5.20
1987 Tigers 2B 148 145 3,800 708 4.8 691 275 416 17 99 n/a n/a n/a .976 4.91
1988 Tigers 2B 110 103 2,711 510 4.6 502 218 284 8 53 n/a n/a n/a .984 5.00
1989 Tigers 2B 146 137 3,534 731 5.0 720 327 393 11 99 n/a n/a n/a .985 5.50
1990 Tigers 2B 130 116 3,112 664 5.1 658 286 372 6 98 n/a n/a n/a .991 5.71
1991 Tigers 2B 135 119 3,191 620 4.6 616 255 361 4 91 n/a n/a n/a .994 5.21
1992 Tigers 2B 119 112 2,935 577 4.8 568 256 312 9 72 n/a n/a n/a .984 5.23
1993 Tigers 2B 110 97 2,592 569 5.2 558 236 322 11 75 n/a n/a n/a .981 5.81
1994 Tigers 2B 83 73 1,925 394 4.7 382 136 246 12 44 n/a n/a n/a .970 5.36
1995 Tigers 2B 63 53 1,358 274 4.3 270 107 163 4 32 n/a n/a n/a .985 5.37
2B Totals 2,308 2,142 57,207 11,613 5.0 11,424 4,771 6,653 189 1,527 n/a n/a n/a .984 5.39
19 Years 2,308 2,142 57,207 11,613 5.0 11,424 4,771 6,653 189 1,527 n/a n/a n/a .984 5.39

Lou Whitaker

Lou Whitaker Miscellaneous Stats

1977 Tigers 2 2 .500 0 2 0 0.0 5.3 16.0 - - -
1978 Tigers 7 7 .500 7 4 2 161.3 7.4 8.3 - - -
1979 Tigers 20 10 .667 7 2 0 141.0 6.4 10.1 - - -
1980 Tigers 8 4 .667 8 2 0 477.0 6.0 10.6 - - -
1981 Tigers 5 3 .625 2 0 0 67.0 8.0 9.3 - - -
1982 Tigers 11 3 .786 4 0 1 37.3 9.7 8.6 - - -
1983 Tigers 17 10 .630 8 0 0 53.6 9.2 8.9 - - -
1984 Tigers 6 5 .545 7 0 0 42.9 8.9 10.0 - - -
1985 Tigers 6 4 .600 5 0 0 29.0 10.9 8.3 - - -
1986 Tigers 13 8 .619 8 0 0 29.2 8.3 8.0 - - -
1987 Tigers 13 5 .722 3 0 0 37.8 5.6 10.2 - - -
1988 Tigers 2 0 1.000 10 0 0 33.6 6.6 7.3 - - -
1989 Tigers 6 3 .667 9 0 2 18.2 8.6 6.0 - - -
1990 Tigers 8 2 .800 13 0 1 26.2 6.6 7.9 - - -
1991 Tigers 4 2 .667 14 0 3 20.4 10.4 6.0 - - -
1992 Tigers 6 4 .600 12 0 10 23.8 9.8 6.4 - - -
1993 Tigers 3 3 .500 18 0 0 42.6 8.3 5.7 - - -
1994 Tigers 2 0 1.000 13 0 5 26.8 6.9 7.5 - - -
1995 Tigers 4 0 1.000 23 0 8 17.8 6.1 5.7 - - -
19 Years 143 75 .656 171 10 32 35.1 7.8 7.9 - - -

Lou Whitaker

Lou Whitaker Miscellaneous Items of Interest

1977 Detroit Tigers 1 $19,000.00 - -
1978 Detroit Tigers 1 $22,100.00 - -
1979 Detroit Tigers 1 $34,000.00 - -
1980 Detroit Tigers 1 $130,000.00 - -
1981 Detroit Tigers 1 $310,000.00 - -
1982 Detroit Tigers 1 $310,000.00 - -
1983 Detroit Tigers 1 $525,000.00 Stats -
1984 Detroit Tigers 1 $525,000.00 Stats Stats
1985 Detroit Tigers 1 $670,000.00 Stats -
1986 Detroit Tigers 1 $670,000.00 Stats -
1987 Detroit Tigers 1 $420,000.00 Stats -
1988 Detroit Tigers 1 $975,000.00 - -
1989 Detroit Tigers 1 $1,025,000.00 - -
1990 Detroit Tigers 1 $1,800,000.00 - -
1991 Detroit Tigers 1 $2,000,000.00 - -
1992 Detroit Tigers 1 $2,200,000.00 - -
1993 Detroit Tigers 1 $3,433,333.00 - -
1994 Detroit Tigers 1 $2,783,333.00 - n/a
1995 Detroit Tigers 1 $3,783,334.00 - -

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baseball almanac fast facts

Louis Rodman Whitaker was a Major League Baseball player who spent his entire nineteen year career with the Detroit Tigers (1977-1995). Did you know that Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell were not only the longest-running double-play combination (second base / shortstop combo, respectively, from 1977 through 1995) in Major League history, but the duo are also the American League record holders for most games played together (1,918) by two teammates?

LOU WHITAKER ROOKIE CARD

Lou Whitaker Rookie Card | 1978 Topps Baseball Card (#704 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Collection

A perfect pair

Trammell-Whitaker combo makes history

DETROIT — They were thrown together from two different worlds. Yet the pairing of Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker has proven to be right for the team, right for the town and right for them.

“I didn’t think we’d be married so long,” Whitaker said. “We’ve been together longer than lots of husbands and wives.”

The duo long ago became the longest-running double-play combination in baseball history.

Yesterday, they set an American League record when they played their 1,915 game together. Their start against the Milwaukee Brewers erased the old AL mark set by George Brett and Frank White of the Kansas City Royals.

“We were kind of force fed,” Trammell recalled. “We were both just kids when they brought us up. We needed to mature, physically and mentally. But, we endured and flourished. The bottom line is we both did the job. So, we stayed.”

Trammell and Whitaker were paired in the minor league. Jim Campbell, who was then the Tigers’ general manager, wanted them together so much that he converted Whitaker into a second baseman, despite the fact that Whitaker was voted Most Valuable Player of the Florida State League as a third baseman in 1976.

“The days after the season ended, they sent us to the Instructional League and switched him to second,” Trammell said. “They paired us up there, in the fall of 1976.”

They have been together ever since.

Their 19-season tenure with Detroit began on Sept. 9, 1977, when manager Ralph Houk started them both in the second game of a doubleheader at Fenway Park. Both hit safely in their first major league at-bats. Whitaker went 3 for 5 with a double, an RBI and a stolen base. Trammell went 2 for 3 in an 8-6 loss.

Source: Associated Press Wire. The Blade. Toledo, Ohio. 14 September 1995. Page 35.

Lou Whitaker is one of only six players with 2,200+ games played at second base, the other five (Roberto Alomar, Eddie Collins, Nellie Fox, Charlie Gehringer and Joe Morgan) are each members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Let’s take a look at some additional numbers of interest as they relate to one of the most defensively solid second baseman in baseball history:

1 – Lou Whitaker had his iconic #1 retired on August 6, 2022, just the eighth player in the storied history of the Detroit Tigers to have honor bestowed upon him. Christopher Ilitch, Tigers CEO, said, "Sweet Lou will join a distinguished club of legends, and his name will forever be etched in Tigers history as one of the best to ever wear the Olde English D."

3 – Lou Whitaker won three Gold Glove Awards at Second Base, the most ever by a Tigers second baseman. [Frank Bolling (1x) and Placido Polanco (2x)]

4 – Lou Whitaker won four Silver Slugger Awards at second base, the most ever by a Tigers second baseman and the most in American League history until Robinson Cano won his fifth in 2013 (Julio Franco and Roberto Alomar also won four each at second, but only Cano has won more to date).

13 – Lou Whitaker was rated by baseball historian Bill James (The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. Free Press Publishers. 13 June 2003. Page 494.) as the thirteenth best second baseman in baseball history! Hall of Fame second basemen who finished behind Sweet Lou include Billy Herman (#14), Nellie Fox (#15), Bobby Doerr (#18), Tony Lazzeri (#19), Johnny Evers (#25), Red Schoendienst (#28), and Bill Mazeroski (#29).

28 – Lou Whitaker hit 28 home runs in 1989, the single season record for home runs in a season by a Detroit Tigers second baseman. The previous record setting Detroit Tigers second baseman was Dick McAuliffe, who had 24 in 1964, and before him it was hall of famer Charlie Gehringer, who had 20 in 1938.

1527 – Lou Whitaker took part in 1,527 double plays at second base, the fourth most in baseball history behind only Bill Mazeroski (1,706), Nellie Fox (1,619), and Willie Randolph (1,547).

2390 – Lou Whitaker wore a Detroit Tigers uniform in 2,390 regular season games, third most in team history, behind Al Kaline (2,834 games) and Ty Cobb (2,806 games).

In 1978, Lou Whitaker won the Rookie of the Year Award, the second recipient from the Detroit Tigers, and the youngest American League player to ever receive the honor. Sweet Lou held that record for thirty-four years, until a centerfielder who was two months and twenty-six days younger named Mike Trout, won unanimously in 2012.