Detroit Tigers will retire Lou Whitaker's No. 1 during 2020 season

Anthony Fenech | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Detroit Tigers' Lou Whitaker waiting for Hall call Get the numbers on a Detroit Tigers' all-time great, Lou Whitaker

The Detroit Tigers don't need to wait for Lou Whitaker to become a Hall of Famer.

In their strongest statement on his ongoing Cooperstown candidacy, the team announced Tuesday they will be retiring Whitaker’s No. 1, which he wore from 1978-1995. It will be the ninth retired number in Tigers history.

The ceremony will be held on Saturday, Aug. 29 before the Tigers' 6:10 p.m. game against the Boston Red Sox.

In 19 seasons, Whitaker hit .276 with 244 home runs, 143 stolen bases and an on-base percentage of .363 in nearly 10,000 plate appearances. The second baseman won the 1984 World Series with the Tigers and was a five-time American League All-Star. Whitaker won four Silver Slugger Awards, three Gold Glove Awards and was the 1978 AL Rookie of the Year.

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"What a thrill it was to watch Lou Whitaker grace the diamond for nearly two decades – a gifted talent in this glorious game," Tigers owner Christopher Ilitch said in a released statement on Tuesday. "Without question, 'Sweet Lou' is one of the greatest players to ever wear the Olde English 'D.' His hustle. His grit. His dedication.

"On behalf of Tigers fans everywhere, it was a tremendous honor to call Lou a short time ago to inform him that the Tigers are retiring his iconic #1 at Comerica Park during the 2020 season – where his name and number will occupy hallowed space alongside his longtime partner up the middle – Alan Trammell.

"We congratulate Lou; a Tiger legend so deserving of this recognition."

A week ago, the 62-year-old Whitaker was denied election to the Baseball Hall of Fame for a second time : In 2001, his only season on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot, he received 2.9% of the vote, falling short of the 5% threshold to stay on the ballot. When his first try on the Modern Era Committee ballot arrived Dec. 8, he received six votes, six shy of the 75% needed from the 16-man committee.

The Modern Era Committee doesn't vote again until 2022.

The Tigers have long held the Hall of Fame as their standard to retire uniform numbers. But they took just a week after the latest snub to give him the ultimate organizational honor.

Next summer, Whitaker ’s No. 1 will join Ty Cobb (who had no number), Charlie Gehringer’s No. 2, Alan Trammell’s No. 3, Hank Greenberg’s No. 5, Al Kaline’s No. 6, Sparky Anderson’s No. 11, Hal Newhouser’s No. 16, Willie Horton’s No. 23 and Jack Morris’ No. 47 on the outfield wall at Comerica Park. (Jackie Robinson's No. 42 is also retired — as it has been by all 30 MLB teams since 1997 — and displayed on the wall at Comerica.)

Whitaker joins Horton as the only players in that group not to make the Hall. Horton, who currently serves as a special assistant to general manager Al Avila, grew up in Detroit and was the star of Detroit's 1968 World Series champions.

Whitaker's 19-season body of work stacks up well against players already in the Hall. Whitaker's 75.1 career Wins Above Replacement, according to baseball-reference.com, ranks 78th all-time. Only nine of the 77 players ahead of him on that list are not already in the Hall, and seven of those are either not yet eligible for induction or have been previously implicated in performance-enhancing drug use. Among Tigers, Whitaker is fourth all-time in WAR, trailing only Cobb (144.7), Kaline (92.8) and Gehringer (80.7).

More: Lou Whitaker gets taste of Hall of Fame experience: 'You're next'

As Trammell, Whitaker's longtime double-play partner, recalled to the Free Press ahead of his induction into the Hall in 2018, Whitaker wore a different number during his first season in the majors, in 1977, but was switched to No. 1 at the start of the 1978 season.

“In 1977, when Lou and I got called to the big leagues, I was 42,” Trammell said. “Number 42. I don’t have that jersey but it’s a fact. I think Lou was 44.”

Whitaker was actually given No. 43. But when they showed up for spring training the next year, their numbers had changed.

“In our lockers, Lou was 1 and I was 3,” Trammell said.

He never found out who assigned the numbers.

“I would never ask,” he said. “At that point in my career, I just wanted to get a number. You know what? I didn’t have any seniority.”

The Tigers went 17 seasons without issuing No. 1 after Whitaker retired, from 1996-2012. Shortstop Jose Iglesias wore No. 1 from 2013-18, and second baseman Josh Harrison wore the number in 2019 in his lone year with the franchise. (Oh, and one more note for the trivia books: Three of the players to wear No. 1 for the Tigers before Whitaker — Birdie Tebbetts, Billy Martin and Jerry Manuel — went on to manage in the major leagues.)

More: Who's the top Detroit Tiger for each uniform number? Nos. 1-15

Contact Anthony Fenech at afenech@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @anthonyfenech. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.