Going From Sweet Lou to a Very Seasoned Lou

LAKELAND, Fla. —  Lou Whitaker seldom is called “Sweet Lou” anymore, which suits the Detroit second baseman fine.

Whitaker, a four-time All-Star, isn’t a smiling kid anymore. He’s almost 32 years old, he’s just recovered from an embarrassing knee injury and--for the first time in his career--he’s heard trade rumors with his name in them.

“Winners don’t smile, man,” Whitaker said. “There’s a time to have fun, there’s a time to be serious. Guys that say I’m distant or aloof, that’s a real compliment. They don’t need to see me laughing.”

Since hitting .320 in 1983, Whitaker’s batting average has dropped steadily. He was hitting .275 after 115 games last year before ending his season by attempting a split while dancing at a wedding party.

When the 1989 season ends, so does Whitaker’s contract. If he wants one more big pop, he needs one more big season.

So “Sweet Lou” doesn’t smile.

“This ain’t basketball. You know I ain’t like Isiah (Thomas) or Magic (Johnson),” he said.

Whitaker and his partner, shortstop Alan Trammell, have been together since coming up as a combo late in 1977. They’ve been in the big leagues ever since, making the duo baseball’s longest-running double-play team.

“I still enjoy baseball a lot,” he said. “I’ve always had fun with baseball. It’s always been an easy game for me.”

Because the game has been so easy for Whitaker, he hasn’t worked as hard at it as some others. His detractors view this as a lackadaisical attitude. Whitaker views it as wise.

“I know what I need to do,” Whitaker said. “If I don’t want to take batting practice, I don’t.”

Proof that his theory works lies in the fact that Tiger manager Sparky Anderson, far from worrying about Whitaker’s declining numbers, has moved him from leadoff to No. 3 in the Detroit batting order.

“I’ve never worried about my average,” Whitaker said. “People think I should hit .300 but I’m more interested in winning.

“Sparky’s moved me out of the leadoff spot before but I think this time he really wants me to bat third. Instead of hitting a leadoff home run, he wants me to hit that homer with somebody on. Instead of one run, we’ve got two. They want RBIs.”

Trammell, since the departure of Darrell Evans, has taken over as the Tigers leader--especially in the clubhouse--dealing with the media. But Trammell feels that Whitaker, in a quieter way, long has been a team leader.

“The young players watch Lou,” Trammell said. “They watch the way he plays the game. That’s leadership by example and that’s just as important as being flashy.”

In Whitaker’s opinion, Anderson is the man who runs the show. The manager basks in the limelight and Whitaker is glad to let him have it.

“The only thing I do is I work here,” Whitaker said. “I keep myself in shape and play hard. That’s the way you lead.

“You don’t need a little sign. We’re all grown men. If you don’t know how to do your work, you still have some growing to do.”

What about those trade rumors? Whitaker, who moved his off season home from suburban Detroit to the town where the Tigers hold spring camp, missed most of the rumors. The Detroit newspapers circulate little in Florida.

“The only way they could trade me is if I agree to it and I wouldn’t agree with anything like that unless I got what I wanted,” Whitaker said. “Anything can be in the paper but that doesn’t make it true.

“I learned a long time ago there’s a business side to this game and you have to recognize that.”

Tiger general manager Bill Lajoie, in fact, denies that Whitaker ever was shopped around.

“We’re trying to win a championship,” Lajoie said. “Lou can still make the plays and his production never really dropped off that much.”

So far this spring, Whitaker has shown some of his old flash in the field and at the plate. It’s obvious the injured knee is sound once more. “I’m as good as I’ve ever been,” Whitaker said, finally breaking into a smile. “I still love to play. I’ve never had to say that.”