Following a standout three-sport career at Ottawa Hills High School, Mickey Stanley signed a contract with the Detroit Tigers and played his entire 14-year career with the organization.
He was a four-time Gold Glove Award winner known for his defense in centerfield, and in 1968 and 1970 led the American League outfielders with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
A career .248 hitter, he is best remembered for being boldly moved to shortstop by Tigers’ Manager Mayo Smith for the 1968 World Series in place of starter Ray Oyler, whose batting average had slipped to .135. The move also allowed for the left-handed hitting Jim Northrup to join Willie Horton and Al Kaline in the batting order for each game. Stanley made two errors in 34 chances in the seven-game series, and neither led to a run. He and Northrup were key factors in helping the Tigers win in seven games over the St. Louis Cardinals.
The next year Stanley played shortstop for 59 games before returning to centerfield to stay through the end of his career.
He is also remembered for a memorable baseball quote regarding the pitching of Nolan Ryan. After being among his many strikeout victims, Stanley was asked about a particular at-bat and said: “Those were the best pitches I ever heard.”