Really the only thing that Alan Trammell had going against him when being considered for the Baseball Hall of Fame is he was not Ozzie Smith. For some reason that Most people will never understand, that alone was enough to keep him from the traditional means of taking a spot in Cooperstown.
Trammell, a Kearny High School alum, was not voted in by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America during his years of eligibility.
It took the Modern Era Committee one shot to right that wrong.
On Sunday, Trammell and former starting pitcher Jack Morris got their calls to Cooperstown. The Modern Baseball Era Committee, which is made up of 16 Hall of Famers, current executives and baseball historians, did the right thing and put Trammel in with 81.3 percent of the vote (only 75 percent was needed).
Trammell is a six-time All-Star shortstop who spent his entire 20-year career with the Detroit Tigers. He was a key member of Detroit’s 1984 World Series championship (beating his hometown Padres). Trammell won the World Series MVP that year, hitting .450 against the Padres.
He won four Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers and finished with 2,365 hits, 412 doubles and a .285 career batting average. He was, for years, the American League’s version of the Wizard of Oz(zie). But without the flash of Smith’s defense, or a landmark stat like 3,000 hits, he was constantly overlooked.
Morris is a 254-game winner whose signature moment came in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series when he threw a 10-inning shutout for the Twins to beat the Braves.
Trammell and Morris will join the rest of the Hall of Fame class of 2018 ... that will hopefully include Padres closer Trevor Hoffman ... in Cooperstown during induction weekend from July 27-30.
