The Detroit Tigers were among the most dominant baseball teams of the 1960s, known primarily for their outstanding pitching staffs and a lineup led by future Hall of Famer Al Kaline.

Don Wert was never the star player of those Tigers teams, but he was regarded in his time as one of the best-fielding third basemen of his era. Occasionally he took a star turn, collecting American League Most Valuable Player award votes in 1965, earning an AL All-Star Game nomination in 1968, and helping the Tigers end a 23-year pennant drought later that year with an RBI single.

Wert, who played for the Tigers from 1963-70, died over the weekend at age 86.

Wert was born in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, in Lancaster County. He was a three-sport star in high school before enrolling at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he played baseball for the Diplomats.

As a minor leaguer, Wert won a batting title in 1961 for Denver of the American Association, a Tigers minor league affiliate.

Wert played for the Tigers from his 1963 debut until 1970. He finished his career with the Washington Senators in 1971. Along the way, he played an integral part in one of the most successful runs in Tigers franchise history.

Wert was selected for the first annual “Tiger of the Year” by the Detroit chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in 1965. That season, he batted .261 with 12 home runs and 53 RBIs while scoring a career-high 81 runs. He also led AL third basemen with a .976 fielding percentage in 1965.

Baltimore Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson won the sixth of his 16 consecutive Gold Glove awards at the position that year, a streak that effectively blocked Wert from ever claiming the award. Nonetheless, Wert’s glove helped him finish 10th in MVP voting in 1965.

On June 24, 1968, Wert was struck in the head by a pitch from Hal Kurtz of the Cleveland Indians, which split his batting helmet. This incident significantly impacted his hitting performance for the rest of his career.

He still managed to become a key player in the Tigers’ 1968 World Series run. On Sept. 17 of that year, his game-winning single against the New York Yankees clinched the American League pennant. As Lynn Henning wrote for the Detroit News:

Wert, who had been beaned in May, who had suffered noticeably from trauma and plate-shyness the remainder of the season as his batting average dipped, was handed the much-merited honor of finalizing Detroit’s American League championship a year before playoffs became part of October’s postseason MLB world.

After the 1970 season, the Tigers traded Wert to the Washington Senators as part of an eight-player deal that included pitcher Denny McLain, a two-time Cy Young Award winner.

Wert spent a couple months with Washington before being released in June, ending his playing career. He retired with a .242/.314/.343 slash line in more than 1,100 games.

After the conclusion of his playing career, Wert returned to his alma mater as head baseball coach from 1977-81.

Wert coached Franklin & Marshall to its second Middle Atlantic Conference Championship in program history during the 1978 season. He finished his coaching career with the Diplomats with a 59-57-3 career record — the second-most wins in program history at the time he stepped away.

According to the Detroit News, Wert is survived by his wife of 64 years, Marla; a son, Scott; daughters Marla Hess and Kimberly Myers; and two grandchildren.

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