Willie Horton (baseball player)

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This article is about the baseball player. For the convicted rapist and murderer who came to attention during the 1988 U.S. presidential election, see Willie Horton.

Willie Wattison Horton (born October 18, 1942 in Arno, Virginia) is a former left fielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball who played for six American League teams, primarily the Detroit Tigers. He hit 20 or more home runs seven times, and his 325 career home runs ranked sixth among AL right-handed hitters when he retired. He enjoyed his best season in 1968 with the world champion Tigers, finishing second in the AL with 36 homers, a .543 slugging average and 278 total bases. In the later years of his career, he was twice named the AL's top designated hitter.

Horton is the youngest of twenty-one children of James Horton and his wife Lillian (Wattison) Horton. After winning a city championship with Detroit Northwestern High School in 1959, he signed with the Tigers in 1961, and made his debut with the team on September 10, 1963; he had a pinch-hit home run off Robin Roberts in his second at bat. He saw limited play in his first two years before a 1965 rookie campaign in which he was second in the AL with 104 runs batted in and third with 29 home runs. He was named to the All-Star team, and placed eighth in the MVP balloting. Becoming known for his tremendous strength as well as for his fluctuating weight, he again collected 100 RBI in the 1966 season. During the 1967 Detroit 12th Street riot, he tried vainly to restore peace. He stood in his Tiger uniform on a car in the middle of the crowd, pleading for calm. However, despite his impassioned pleas, he could not calm the angry mob.

While not considered a particularly good fielder, Horton's hitting more than made up for it. He posted double-digit home run totals in 12 regular seasons from 1965-76, and hit two home runs in a game on 30 occasions. He had a career-high 36 HRs in 1968, a pitcher's year in which Detroit won the World Series; he finished second in the AL to Frank Howard in homers, slugging and total bases. In a year in which the league batting average was .230 and Carl Yastrzemski won the batting title with a .301 mark, Horton's .285 average was good for fourth in the AL, and he finished fourth in the MVP voting. He also batted .304 in the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. In order to combine Horton's offensive power with a good defense, manager Mayo Smith moved regular center fielder Mickey Stanley to shortstop as a replacement for Ray Oyler, who was benched. He kept Al Kaline, a multiple Gold Glove Award winner, in right field and put Jim Northrup in center field; the two had platooned in right field for much of the year. When the Tigers were safely ahead, Oyler would replace Stanley at shortstop, batting in Horton's lineup spot; Stanley returned to center field, and Kaline or Northrup would move over to replace Horton in left field. In Game 2, Horton had a solo home run to give the Tigers an early 1-0 lead, and they won 8-1. He also made a pivotal defensive play in the fifth inning of Game 5. With the Cardinals leading the Series 3 games to 1 and the game 3-2, Lou Brock doubled with one out, and tried to score on Julián Javier's single; but he chose not to slide, and Horton's throw to catcher Bill Freehan beat him on a close, controversial play. Detroit scored three runs in the seventh inning to win 5-3, and went on to win Games 6 and 7 as well; Horton had two runs and two RBI in the 13-1 blowout in Game 6, and two hits and a run in the final 4-1 victory.

Horton was a four-time member of the AL All-Star team (1965, 1968, 1970 and 1973). He hit three home runs against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 9, 1970. On April 14, 1974, he hit a popup which struck and killed a pigeon at Fenway Park. He was named the AL's Outstanding Designated Hitter in 1975 after hitting 25 home runs with 92 RBI. In the 1977 midseason he was traded to the Texas Rangers, and he again hit three home runs on May 15 against the Kansas City Royals at Royals Stadium. He spent 1978 playing for the Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays, before finally settling with the Seattle Mariners from 1979-80.

In 1979 with the Mariners he was again named the AL's Outstanding Designated Hitter after hitting .279 with 29 HRs and a career-high 106 RBI, and he received the Comeback Player of the Year award as well. On June 5 against the Tigers he hit what seemed to be his 300th career home run, but it struck a speaker hanging from the roof of the Kingdome and bounced onto the field for a single; he would collect #300 the next day against Jack Morris. His Mariners record of 106 RBI was broken by Alvin Davis in 1984, his marks of 180 hits and 296 total bases were broken by Phil Bradley in 1985, and his record of 29 homers was broken by Gorman Thomas in 1985. His record of 646 at bats was broken by Alex Rodriguez in 1998; Horton remains one of only four Mariners to have played the full 162 games in a season. He played his final major league game on October 5, 1980. In an 18-season career, Horton posted a .273 batting average and .457 slugging average with 1993 hits, 284 doubles, 1163 RBI, 873 runs and 20 stolen bases in 2028 games. His 325 home runs in the AL placed him behind only Harmon Killebrew (573), Jimmie Foxx (524), teammate Al Kaline (399), Rocky Colavito (371) and Joe DiMaggio (361) among right-handed hitters.

Horton played two more years in the Pacific Coast League and another season in Mexican baseball. Among his baseball superstitions was his use of the same batting helmet throughout his career; he repainted it when he changed teams. After retiring, he coached for the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox. On July 15, 2000 Horton became just the sixth former player given the ultimate honor by the Detroit Tigers; a statue of Horton was placed in Comerica Park and his number 23 was retired, joining a select group that includes former Tigers players Ty Cobb (who didn't wear a number), Charlie Gehringer (number 2), Hank Greenberg (number 5), Al Kaline (number 6), and Hal Newhouser (number 16). It is ironic that the statue of Horton, the first black ballplayer so honored by the Tigers, stands next to the statue of Ty Cobb, a noted racist. When asked about this, Horton responded that he once tried to heal the City of Detroit through its riots, so maybe, it was his job to help heal the Tiger legend as well.