Rookie 2nd Base (‘78 RC). $3,300

Career Highlights: https://youtu.be/0eQ4XMfi3u0

Louis Rodman Whitaker Jr. (born in Brooklyn, NY on May 12, 1957), nicknamed “Sweet Lou”, is an American former professional baseball second basemanwho played for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1977 to 1995. He won the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 1978, and was a five-time MLB All-Starin his career. He won four Silver Slugger Awardsand three Gold Glove Awards. Whitaker and teammate Alan Trammell comprised the longest running double play combination in MLB history (19 seasons). The Detroit Tigers selected Whitaker in the fifth round, with the 99th overall selection, of the 1975 MLB draft. He signed with the Tigers rather than attend college. He made his professional debut that year for the Bristol Tigers of the Rookie-level Appalachian League. He played for the Lakeland Tigers of the Class A Florida State League in 1976. The team’s starting third baseman, he batted .297 and was named the league’s most valuable player. After the 1976 season, the Tigers assigned Whitaker to the Arizona Instructional League, where they converted him into a second baseman and paired him with shortstop Alan Trammell. In 1977, they both played for the Montgomery Rebels of the Double-A Southern League, Whitaker batting .280 during the season. The two were both promoted to the Major Leagues late in the 1977 season and had become starters for the Tigers by the end of April 1978. They would remain teammates until Whitaker retired in 1995. In 1978, Whitaker won the American League Rookie of the Year Award, hitting .285 with 71 runs, 20 stolen bases and a .361 on-base percentage.