Lakeland, Fla. – It couldn’t have been an easy phone call to make.
At the end of the 2012 season, less than two years after he was drafted by the Tigers, Colin Kaline knew his playing days were over. A high school standout at Birmingham Groves, the Tigers took him in the 26th round in 2011 after playing four years at Florida Southern.
But in 80 games in parts of two seasons at Low-A Connecticut and West Michigan, Kaline managed to hit just .197. He’d been offered a coaching job with the Gulf Coast Tigers and was ready to move on.