Wolfman

December 10th, 2017 at 7:52 PM ^

Those were the days where i still followed professional sports. I recall heading out to Tiger Stadium and watching Trammell and Sweet Lou, along with Jack if he were tossing, then getting into the motor home with my friends and heading out to Pontiac so we could watch Billy and the Lions.  Good Times. BTW, the weekend I'm describing above included Lance hitting two triples in the same game against the Yankees and Billy running wild against the Vikings. A great weekend. 

Those two were simply incredible and no denying Jack's greatness. All great competitors. 

Joined: 07/23/2008

MGoPoints: 8259

WDs_GF

December 10th, 2017 at 8:15 PM ^

So they put two white Tigers in and leave the back guy out? Sweet Lou's stat line: Batting average .276 Home runs 244 Hits 2,369 Runs batted in 1,084 5× All-Star (1983–1987) World Series champion (1984) AL Rookie of the Year (1978) 3× Gold Glove Award (1983–1985) 4× Silver Slugger Award (1983–1985, 1987) There are a lot of middle infielders in the HoF with numbers not that good!

Joined: 12/10/2017

MGoPoints: 9

Don

December 10th, 2017 at 8:49 PM ^

Considering the fact that 23 sportswriters somehow concluded that Willie Mays was unworthy of membership in the HOF and voted against his induction in 1979, it's fair to say that there are plenty of cretinous dumbshit assholes in the sports journalist community.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 148244

Don

December 10th, 2017 at 11:07 PM ^

Which would leave plenty of room for their own pet candidate to get a vote in addition to Mays. It's irresponsible to purposely not vote for a particular candidate merely because he seems to be a shoo-in—their vote should reflect whether or not they think a particular candidate is deserving.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_Hall_of_Fame_balloting,_1979

The idiocy in HOF voting extends all the way back to the very first ballot in 1936, when none of Cobb, Ruth, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, or Honus Wagner got 100%.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 148244

Bando Calrissian

December 10th, 2017 at 11:55 PM ^

Again. Voters get selective, not to mention crafty with what they do with their votes. Just because you think it's irresponsible doesn't mean that a voter isn't going to look at a ballot and say "I have 11 guys I want to pick, Mays is getting in no matter what I do, I'm voting for the other 10." Like you pointed out, they've been doing it since the start. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with it.

Don't like it? Become a baseball writer and use your vote how you think it should be used.

Joined: 07/02/2008

MGoPoints: 68117

Madonna

December 10th, 2017 at 8:23 PM ^

I love Alan Trammell. My dad was a huge baseball fan before my parents even immigrated. He immediately latched onto the Tigers and made it part of our family entertianment interests long before I really paid attention to the UofM. When MLB finally made women's jerseys, the first thing I did was get one for No. 3. I'm surprised about Jack Morris. I'm not sure either he or Lou Whitaker are really HOF quality, but Tram is bordering on top 10 at his position. He really should have been elected by the writers.

Joined: 11/29/2014

MGoPoints: 944

GoBlueBill

December 10th, 2017 at 8:34 PM ^

Long overdue.I was looking at the story on the CBS Sports web page and the commenters there have no respect for either and question their getting in . If those people saw what we saw game in and game out , they would quickly change their  minds .

Joined: 12/30/2014

MGoPoints: 11999

umchicago

December 10th, 2017 at 8:52 PM ^

There are only two starting pitchers (before morris) who were elected to the HOF with their primary decade being the 1980s:  Nolan Ryan and Bert Blyleven; and you could argue the 70s for those two.  There were a few others with some time in the 80s like: Palmer, Seaver and Carlton.  But the 80s seemed to lack stud starting pitching.

Morris had a .577 winning %, which is better than both Ryan (.526) and Blyleven (.534).  Morris was almost always considered the #1 starter on his team.  Blyleven almost never was.  Morris led the 80s in wins.  He was a workhorse.  He had the intangibles.  He was the best starting pitcher of the 80s.

He deserves to be there...barely.

Joined: 02/05/2009

MGoPoints: 33629

gordify

December 10th, 2017 at 8:56 PM ^

If Trammell would've done backflips once in a while he'd been in years ago. Also, I'd like to see what Jack's ERA would have been if you take away the runs scored against him in the 8th and 9th innings.

Joined: 03/21/2009

MGoPoints: 240

ckersh74

December 10th, 2017 at 9:58 PM ^

From what I've read (unconfirmed):

16 people were on the committee. 12 votes were needed for election. Each member could vote for up to 3.

Trammell and Morris each got 14. Ted Simmons got 11. Not much room on a ballot for anyone else. 

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 41624

Ryno2317

December 10th, 2017 at 11:06 PM ^

Morris was always a very interesting case.  A pretty high ERA, however, always came up big when it matter most.  Plus, he had over 250 wins.  He should have gotten in awhile ago.  Nice to get it now, however.  

Joined: 10/14/2013

MGoPoints: 12486

Bando Calrissian

December 11th, 2017 at 12:45 AM ^

Whitaker went ineligible immediately after his first year, didn't get to 5% on the initial ballot to remain in subsequent years. He was only eligible for the Veteran's Committee (Modern Baseball Committee now) ballot starting last year, and wasn't on the ballot either time. With Tram getting in, I'm guessing the politicking will start and buzz will start to pick up, but it seems to be a tall order.

Joined: 07/02/2008

MGoPoints: 68117

stephenrjking

December 10th, 2017 at 11:53 PM ^

Great news. I had honestly given up on either making it (and had reluctantly accepted that perhaps Morris had too flimsy a case) so this is a delightful surprise. No question that game 7 in 1991 puts Morris over the top here. The HOF is never about one game, but when you're borderline and have that on your resume? That's huge. I'm very, very happy for Tram. Had no idea I'd be audibly cheering a HOF news update, but here I am.

Joined: 03/15/2012

MGoPoints: 20143524

coachdad

December 11th, 2017 at 11:48 AM ^

to see these two in the Hall of Fame. As a young boy in Michigan I idolized Alan Trammell. I always thought he played the game the way it should be played. Morris was a great pitcher who dominated the 80's. I still hold out hope for Sweet Lou. Thought he has been screwed by the process. Tram should have been in way before this. If he had done backflips like Ozzie Smith he would already be in, his stats are as good as Ozzie's. 

Joined: 12/10/2015

MGoPoints: 194

greymarch

December 11th, 2017 at 11:54 AM ^

I own Trammell's first produced rookie baseball card, the 1977 Topps card. (That's the card with Trammell and Molitor on the same card, along with two other players.)  It's my favorite baseball card and Trammell is my all-time favorite player.  I am old enough to have watched Trammell play in person.  Havent met Trammell yet.  Hope to shake his hand and have him sign that baseball card...someday.

 

True story...I have relatives living in Detroit who use to live near Trammell, back in the 70s when baseball players didnt make insane amounts of money.  My cousins were friends with a kid who lived nextdoor to Trammell.  They would play baseball in their friend's backyard, and purposely hit the ball over the fence into Trammell's backyard, hoping Trammell would come outside and sign the baseball for them.

Joined: 02/06/2010

MGoPoints: 4883