For more than a half century, as a superstar ballplayer, television broadcaster, and front office executive, Al Kaline has personified the Detroit Tigers like no one else. In the Tigers' clubhouse of today, stars such as Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander--neither of whom were even born when he played in the major leagues--respectfully address him as "Mr. Kaline." Tigers fans around the country of every generation refer to him simply as "Mr. Tiger." Now, for the first time, the life and career of this remarkable individual are presented in this compelling new biography. Learn how the skinny, shy youngster with a deformed foot and an undying love for the game of baseball went straight from high school and the sandlots of Baltimore to the big leagues where, at the age of 20, he became the youngest batting champion in baseball history. That achievement marked the start of a first-ballot Hall of Fame career that would carry him to 3,000 hits and a plaque on the hallowed wall at Cooperstown.

"Dogs bark at those with whom we are angry, show their teeth to those whom we hate, and hump themselves on those that we desire. In short they display that which we are not permitted to display by the rules of the veil that calls itself polite society." "The child can take two paths to creating the adult. The first is the path of Pygmalion. He carved from ivory a statue that he loved. He made offerings and sacrifices and his statue was granted life by Aphrodite. Was the statue granted life because Pygmalion's diligence and sculpting skill pleased his patron? Or was it the beauty of the statue that pleased her? No, it was the sacrifices. The child must sacrifice much before the gods allow him to become a fully living adult. Pygmalion's statue aged and died with him. The child is cruelly denied this experience. The child must also give up its own life for the adult to live. Sometimes one or both of its parents must do the same. The second path that the child may take is that of Hephaestus."