Louis Rodman Whitaker Jr. (born May 12, 1957), nicknamed "Sweet Lou", is an American former professional baseball second baseman.

[6] Whitaker was the starting third baseman in 1976 for the Lakeland Tigers of the Class A Florida State League.

Whitaker went three-for-five with a stolen base, hit a double off the Green Monster at Fenway Park, and registered his first run batted in (RBI) against the Baltimore Orioles.

[1] In 1978, manager Ralph Houk started the season with Whitaker and Trammell platooning with Steve Dillard and Mark Wagner.

He turned 95 double plays, scored 71 runs, stole 20 bases, and compiled a .285 batting average with a .361 on-base percentage.

[2] In November 1978, he was voted by the baseball writers as the winner of the American League Rookie of the Year Award.

He also had one of his best defensive seasons in 1982, leading the league's second basemen with 470 assists, 120 double plays turned, and a .988 fielding percentage.

His 1.9 defensive wins above replacement (dWAR) rating ranked fourth highest in the American League among players at all positions.

He appeared in a career-high 161 games and compiled a .320 batting average and 206 hits, both of which were career highs and ranked third highest in the American League.

He hit a triple that landed at the base of the 401-foot marker in Chicago's Comiskey Park and collected a run batted in as Ron Kittle scored on the play.

For the second consecutive year, he was selected as an American League All-Star and won Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards.

[1] Whitaker's second daughter, Sarah, was born on October 14, 1984, the same day Detroit won the fifth and final game of the World Series.

Whitaker was selected to play in the All-Star game for the third consecutive year, but forgot to pack his uniform.

During the 1986 All-Star Game, he was one of the five players struck out consecutively by National League pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, tying Carl Hubbell's mark.

[23] In 1987, Whitaker scored a career-high 110 runs and won his final Silver Slugger award at second base as the Tigers edged out the Toronto Blue Jays on the final day of the regular season to win the AL East Division title.

Whitaker now shares the season record with Ian Kinsler, who hit 28 homers in 2016 as the Tigers regular second baseman.

[24] Although 1990 saw Whitaker post his lowest batting average in ten years (.237), he didn't let it affect his defense.

In 1991, Whitaker's 23 home runs and career-high 90 walks helped him to an .881 OPS, the highest of his career to that point.

[25] In December 1992, after being recruited to join the Atlanta Braves, Whitaker and the Tigers agreed to a three-year, $10-million contract.

In December 1983, they made cameo appearances as themselves on the television show Magnum, P.I., starring Tom Selleck.

"[31] Whitaker was an effective leadoff man, adept at drawing walks (averaging 81 per 162 games), quick on the bases, and able to drive the ball with power to all fields.

His career Wins Above Replacement (WAR) of 75.1 ranks 51st all-time among position players, and is higher than all but six second basemen (all six of whom are in the Hall of Fame).

[33] Whitaker appeared in 2,390 games for the Detroit Tigers, third most in franchise history behind Ty Cobb and Al Kaline.

[35] Baseball writer Craig Calcaterra wrote that Whitaker was not flashy, but caught everything hit his way, effortlessly turned double plays and made strong, steady throws that "defined great second base defense.

"[39] In his speech honoring Whitaker, Alan Trammell, whose number 3 was retired in 2018, stated: "For four years, I've been uncomfortable.

[41] Whitaker's exclusion from the Hall (particularly him falling off the BBWAA ballot after a single year) has been widely criticized by baseball fans, citing that he meets multiple Hall of Fame standards such as him reaching 2,000 hits and playing with one team his entire career, and his 75.1 Wins Above Replacement are the most of any player in the live-ball era not already inducted barring those excluded due to a controversy.

[44] After retiring from baseball, Whitaker "routinely spent at least 840 hours a year" on missionary work for the church.

[2] In April 1993, Whitaker's pregnant half-sister Judith Grey was killed by gunfire from a passing car in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Emergency workers opened her chest and squeezed the heart to maintain blood flow to the baby, which was born alive at the hospital.

[45] After retiring as a player, Whitaker became an instructor for the Tigers during their spring training sessions in Lakeland, Florida, where he helped coaching hitters through the 2009 season.