Tag: alan trammell

HOF ’09: We’re Done!

Well, with Teddy Ballgame’s write-up on Greg Vaughn earlier today, we’ve concluded HOF ’09, our series of profiles of this year’s candidates for the Hall of Fame.  It’s been fun and I think we’ve even learned a bit along the way.

As for me, it was an interesting group of players to profile for a couple reasons.  A big one was that most of these players were big stars while I was a teenager and young adult when I was forming my serious interest in baseball.  Dave Parker, Jim Rice, Tim Raines, Andre Dawson… I have fond memories.  Not to mention that some of these players played in the era when the Chicago Cubs finally became a post season threat (I can still remember the ’84 series against the Padres… ugh). 

Also, these players came from a time when baseball had more of a balance of power, speed, and pitching.  Appropriately enough, that is reflected in the 2009 Hall of Fame ballot.  With the speed of Henderson and Raines, the power of McGwire and Rice and the pitching of David Cone, Bert Blyleven and Tommy John, this class is well represented. 

Who will get elected?  Well, we put our opinions down who we think SHOULD get the call but as to who WILL get elected is another matter.  The BBWAA has been rather stingy lately and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  It’s very possible that just one (Rickey Henderson??) will get elected and others will have to wait.

Time is running out for some, though.  The midnight hour is chiming for Jim Rice as it’s his last ballot.  There are some (myself included) who feel that his career and contribution is worthy of the Hall. 

We’ll find out tomorrow and the chips will fall where they may.  No doubt, many bloggers and pundits will be unhappy no matter how it goes.  I’ll predict at least one writer will have his credentials questioned and will be asked to step down from the BBWAA.  Unfortunately, THAT is the safest prediction I make right now. 

All that said, here are the opinions we’ve made in the last month.  Links go to our profiles on the players. 

Thanks for reading!

Hall of Fame Hall of Very Good Why is he even on the Ballot?
Harold Baines    
Jay Bell    
Bert Blyleven    
David Cone    
Andre Dawson    
Ron Gant    
Mark Grace    
Rickey Henderson    
Tommy John    
Don Mattingly    
Mark McGwire    
Jack Morris    
Dale Murphy    
Jesse Orosco    

Dave Parker

    
Dan Plesac    
Tim Raines    
Jim Rice    

Lee Smith

    
Alan Trammell    
Greg Vaughn    

Mo Vaughn

    

Matt Williams

    

 

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Teddy Ballgame and DonS for their help with his project.

Also, a lot of research went in to this.  I’d like to give props to the websites that were helpful. 

Baseball Reference:  I can’t say enough about this web site.  If there are baseball fans out there who haven’t seen this site and what it can do, you need to check it out.

Baseball Page:  Very helpful for bios and such.

Baseball Musings’ Day by Day Database:  Good for finding stats between established periods of time (and lots of other stuff).

Baseball Almanac:  another good bio site.  Good for the quotes too :)

HOF ’09: Alan Trammell

Some interesting facts and trivia about Alan Trammell:

  • Other than Jim Rice, he’s the only one on this year’s Hall of Fame ballot who played his whole career with one team (20 years with the Detroit Tigers). 
  • He and keystone partner Lou Whitaker played more games together than any other pair of teammates in baseball history.  Not only that, the two had incredibly similar stats through 1986.  Same batting average (.281), within one point on slugging percentage (Trammell’s .403 to Sweet Lou’s .404).  They were also close on games played (within 6), homeruns (within 3), and hits (20). 
  • Trammell’s grand slam off Royals’ relief pitcher Dan Quisenberry was the first hit off the submarine pitcher.
  • Named his son after Lance Parrish.

 

Trammell Facts
  • Drafted 2nd round in 1976 by the Detroit Tigers
  • Played for Det (1977-1996)
  • 6 time All-Star, 4 Gold Gloves
  • 2nd in MVP voting in 1987

 

Does Alan Trammel make the Hall of Fame?  Find some Detroit Tiger fans and I’ll bet you’ll meet some takers.  He’s an interesting case, that’s for sure.  Comparing him stat-wise to the slugger-types is hardly fair.  He brings much more to the table.  Defense, speed, team leadership.

Trammell was brought up to the major leagues in 1977 but played his first full season the next year.  He played a solid enough season to place fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting.  Two years later in 1980, he had a breakout year with Detroit batting .300 and scoring 107 runs not to mention winning his first of four Gold Gloves. 

trammell wsmvp Trammell hit .300 plus six more times in his career.  His one chance at the MVP was in 1987 when he hit .343 with 28 homeruns, 105 rbis and 109 runs.  He placed second in the voting that year to George Bell and his 47 homeruns.  To this day, some say he was robbed. 

To make the Hall of Fame, Alan Trammell won’t do it because of his hitting.  Unless you want to count sacrifice hits, he never led the league in a single category during his whole career.  The close he came was his .343 average in 1987 which brought him 3rd place. 

In the field, Trammell was a very good shortstop… good enough to get him four Gold Gloves early on in his career.  He does deserve props for his part in bringing the Tigers to World Series in 1987 and winning the whole thing.  Trammell was the World Series MVP.

That said, I’ll give him a no vote with respect to Detroit fans.  It seems that the BBWAA is seeing that way, too.  His vote numbers have been steadily going down in recent years. 

 

  Hall of Fame

Hall of Very Good
  Why is he even on the Ballot?

 

While we wait for January 12 ballot results, The Baseball Zealot will be profiling those players who are on the 2009 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.  Read the rest the of the profiles.