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| https://www.letsgotribe.com/2014/12/31/7468857/alan-trammell-hall-of-fame-detroit-tigers-2015 |
I am so happy to share this news.
My favorite Baseball player of all time -- along with five other really great players -- has been elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.
Here's a list of links of some of the coverage of Alan Trammell being elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, which happens tomorrow, Sunday July 29th.
I don't understand why Trammell and Lou Whitaker were not elected in together.
Trammell ranks as the 9th greatest shortstop in history whereas Lou Whitaker ranks as the 13th greatest second baseman according to Bill James' Historical Abstract for Baseball.
In fact, Bill James doesn't really trot out the reasons for Trammell's excellence beyond mentioning that he is forever linked to his double-play partner: Sweet Lou Whitaker.
Perhaps in this group for this year, which also includes Trevor Hoffman, Jim Thome, Vlad Guerrero, and Chipper Jones, they felt they needed a starting pitcher, so Jack Morris with Sweet Lou to follow on an upcoming roster.
At least, these guys all showed up at Cooperstown, unlike Terrell Owens with the NFL Hall of Fame, which, despite disputes, is a classless move.
https://baseballhall.org/discover/morris-trammell-reflect-on-hof-honors
JACK MORRIS, ALAN TRAMMELL ELECTED TO HALL OF FAME
Part of the BASEBALL HISTORY series
Celebrations may commence in the Motor City as pitcher Jack Morris and shortstop Alan Trammell are welcomed to immortality. The pair of longtime Tigers have joined baseball’s most exclusive fraternity.
The first two members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018 were announced by Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson on MLB Network Sunday, Dec. 10. The duo brings the total number of elected members to Cooperstown’s shrine to 319. Morris and Trammell were among the nine former big league players and one executive that comprised the 10-name Modern Baseball Era ballot, which was voted upon at Baseball’s Winter Meetings in Orlando, Fla.
Less than an hour after the news was released, an overwhelmed Morris and Trammell, Tigers teammates from 1977 to 1990, were on conference calls with the media sharing their thoughts on the momentous occasion.
“It’s really kind of overwhelming for me right now,” said the 62-year-old Morris. “I’m not sure I’m going to be able to put into words all of the emotions that I’m going through right now. Before I get started, I certainly want to thank everybody that supported me along the line and continues to support me.
“And I’m so, so happy and proud of my teammate Alan Trammell," Morris said. "And the fact that we get to go in together is just overwhelming for me. I also want acknowledge the guys that were on the ballot that didn’t make it because I truly understand what they are going through and I feel for them. I think every one of them had a legitimate chance of making it and I was pulling for everyone. I don’t have a lot to say other than the fact that I understand and I hope someday I get to shake your hand, too.”
The right-handed Morris pitched from 1977 to 1994, winning 254 games for the Tigers, with whom he spent 14 of his 18 seasons, as well as for the Twins, Blue Jays and Indians. He was so dominant that during the 18 seasons he played, he led all major league pitchers in wins, starts, innings and complete games. He was a 20-game winner on three occasions and his 162 wins during the decade of the 1980s led all major league pitchers. The ace of the teams for whom he pitched, Morris made 14 Opening Day starts, which since 1920 is tied for second most with Hall of Famers Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson, and is two less than Tom Seaver. He was also a member of four World Series winning teams, including the 1984 Tigers, the 1991 Twins, and the 1992-93 Blue Jays, earning Fall Classic MVP honors in 1991 after pitching 10 shutout innings for Minnesota in Game 7 to beat the Braves. Today, the St. Paul, Minn. native is a broadcaster with the Twins and also works for MLB Network.
“I have so many things going through my head right now but more important than anything else is that I just want people to understand that time has made this even more special,” Morris said. “I’ve learned a lot along the way. Baseball was a huge part of my life and quite honestly I still enjoy the benefits of working in baseball but time makes everything change. I never thought would ever be as emotional as I was when Jane [Hall of Fame Chairman Jane Forbes Clark] called me a few minutes ago. With that being said, I’m very grateful and honored and humbled. I’m just going to let the questions fly now because I don’t know what else to say other than that, again, the time that I’ve spent wondering if this day would ever come seems to be vanished because it did come and it’s amazing.”
Trammell spent all 20 seasons of his major league career in a Detroit Tigers uniform, helping to anchor the middle of the infield. A shortstop who led by example, he posted a career average of .285 with 2,365 hits, batting .300 or better in seven different seasons. When he retired in 1996, his six seasons hitting at least .300 with 10 home runs were tied with fellow Hall of Famer Joe Cronin for the most among shortstops in big league history. With four Gold Glove Awards, three Silver Slugger Awards and six All-Star Game selections, Trammell played in one World Series, winning the Fall Classic MVP after hitting .450 with two home runs and six RBI over five games to lead the 1984 Tigers over the Padres. Today, he works with the Tigers as a special assistant in baseball operations.
“I’ve had a few minutes to kind of think about what I wanted to say. I am still just overwhelmed,” said the 59-year-old Trammell. “I know that word has been used a lot in these circumstances but I don’t know any other way to describe this. My mind is a whirlwind. Fortunately, I just got a call a few minutes ago from Jack Morris, who obviously was my teammate, and I’m so proud that Jack and I will be going in together. I thought that Jack was well deserving, and in my opinion should have been in and elected a few years ago, but nevertheless, it is an honor to go in to go in with Jack and I look forward to whoever goes in on the (BBWAA) ballot in January.
“I’m just honored to be a part of it. I don’t really know what else to say at this particular time. I’m usually not at a loss for words but at this particular time I don’t know what else to say.”
Trammell would later share the circumstances of his receiving the life-changing news.
“Yesterday, I went to a college basketball game in San Diego," Trammell said. "I got on a flight this morning and didn’t get in until 5:50 p.m. I was looking at the internet and knew when it was going to be announced; if my flight was delayed I’m not sure what would have happened.
“So I was in the back of the plane and we had just landed and I turned my phone on – obviously you can’t have the phone on when you’re on the plane – and I turned it off airplane mode. Because I was in the back of the plane it took a few minutes to deplane, and I got the call. (Hall of Fame Chairman of the Board) Jane Clark was on the line and told me that I had been elected to the Hall of Fame. And at that point, what a phone call. I’ve got people around me so I’m trying to be somewhat under control. And I think I was, to a certain degree, but you can imagine my mind was racing. That’s how it came down. I was on an airplane waiting to deplane.”
Morris and Trammell be inducted in Cooperstown on July 29, 2018, along with any electees who emerge from the 2018 Baseball Writers’ Association of America election, to be announced on Jan. 24, 2018.
Bill Francis is a Library Associate at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
A LIST OF GOOD LINKS AND RESOURCES
https://www.mlb.com/news/jack-morris-alan-trammell-elected-to-hall/c-263207676
https://www.mlb.com/news/alan-trammell-should-be-in-hall-of-fame/c-262431218
https://www.si.com/mlb/2017/12/10/hall-fame-results-jack-morris-alan-trammell-marvin-miller
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2018/07/27/alan-trammell-jack-morris-hall-fame/841713002/
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2018/07/28/alan-trammell-jack-morris-2018-baseball-hall-fame/853778002/
https://www.freep.com/picture-gallery/sports/mlb/tigers/2018/07/27/2018-baseball-hall-fame/846914002/
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JACK MORRIS - - BASEBALL REFERENCE
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Here's some of my content from my T-shirt blog with DETROIT TIGERS and especially Trammell love.
Alan Trammell is and always has been my favorite Baseball player of all time. Well, at least since he debuted.
The 1984 re-ignited my love of Baseball, a fact I had forgotten from about 1975 to 1984. I blame obnoxious popular people in high school.
Because, damn... I love Baseball.
From - http://365-tshirts.blogspot.com/2013/07/t-shirt-120-bless-you-boys-1984-tigers.html
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T-shirt #120: Bless You Boys: 1984 TigersRegular Baseball games resume today, and I would like to dedicate myself to a few words (okay, A LOT of words depending on your definition of "few") about one of the greatest Detroit Tigers teams of all time and one of the greatest sports teams ever: THE 1984 DETROIT TIGERS and other related topics.
I would also like to dedicate some content to one of my top five favourite people in the history of Baseball, and the only one who is not a player: ERNIE HARWELL, the voice of the Detroit Tigers as well as my favourite Baseball player ever.
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Ernie is responsible for coining the phrase "Bless You, Boys" that was the theme of that magical 1984 season and World Series victory. (See one of the comments. Actually, Ernie did not coin this phrase. I was wrong!)1984 was the last time the Detroit Tigers won the World Series.
Today has been a bit crazy as I was out at my parents' house taking care of my mother while my father goes to Detroit to see his mother when I started writing this entry and finished later at home. I am sharing that fact because I had originally planned a long, essay, love-letter for this post, and now I am simply in a hurry just to finish the blog entry. So, instead of the long, love letter to the 1984 Detroit Tigers team, let me try something else: short (I think they are short) nuggets of observation, reflection, and/or opinion linked by pictures.
THE CORNER OF MICHIGAN AND TRUMBULL: As much as I love Comerica Park, I grew up going to games at Tigers Stadium. Though I did not make it to any playoff or World Series games in 1984, I did make it over to Detroit in the summer for one game. I like that this shirt features the stadium's location and years of service on the back with the 1984 team's World Series games and scores.
This shirt was a commemorative souvenir created for the celebration of the last year at Tigers Stadium for fans to remember some of their favourite memories from Tigers Stadium. I went to dozens of games at the old Corner of Michigan and Trumbull. It was a very special place for me.
ALAN TRAMMELL
My all-time favourite Baseball player is Alan Trammell and has been since 1984. I did not have one favourite Baseball player let alone one Detroit Tiger prior to crowning Trammell as my champion. I had many favourite players and many favourite Detroit Tigers.
Trammell was everything I wanted to be. He was smart and consistent. He was intense and focused. He was a winner. He was smooth and defensively solid. He was quiet. He led by example. Did I mention the smarts?
Bill James rated Alan Trammell as the ninth best shortstop in the history of the game in the same Historical Abstract book that I wrote about in T-shirt #115 and the Chicago Cubs (Ron Santo).
Trammell is Hall of Fame bound. He has been on the ballot since 2001. Eventually, he and Sweet Lou will be inducted. Not yet.
Trammell was World Series MVP in 1984.
He sat at Sparky's side and learned from one of the greatest managers in the history of the game. And though Tram's first run as Detroit Tigers manager was not the most stellar, he is getting more seasoning as Kirk Gibson's bench coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are currently in first place in the NL West.
Though Tram was not a power home run hitter (only 185), and though he did not hit enough to reach the lofty and exclusive 3000 hit club (only 28 players have so far in MLB history), he knocked 2365 hits in his career, which is not too shabby and a feat few have accomplished. Though I am not going to report Tram's position in MLB history with his career hit total, he is seventh on the all-time Tigers list after two of the Tigers in 3000 hit club (Ty Cobb and Al Kaline) plus Gehringer, Heilmann, Crawford, and Sweet Lou Whitaker (who has just four more hits than Tram, his infield partner for all those years).
Here's a great blog entry from last year that expresses many sentiments I share about the grand old ball park.
ALAN TRAMMELL REMEMBERS TIGERS STADIUM
Trammell embodied the best spirit of that time and the very nature of Ernie's phrase "Bless You Boys!"
THE DETROIT TIGERS 1984 SEASON
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| Commemorative hat from the 2012 World Series |
The Tigers exploded out of the gate in 1984 like no other team that year, no other Tigers team in history, with one of the best starts in Major League history.
The Tigers cruised to a 35-5 record in the first 40 games and one of the top ten best starts by a team in major league history.
A writer collected these starts at BLEACHER REPORT.
The Tigers ended up with 104 wins and 58 losses, which is not the best record in Baseball history, but it is one of the best. And in 1984, the Tigers' record was far and away the best of that year with the next best team back at 96 wins (The Chicago Cubs).
But 1984 is special to me because it brought me back to Baseball and reminded me of how much I loved the Tigers and Baseball.
Unlike the last time when the Tigers won the World Series (1968) when I was only six years old, the 1984 win meant a lot more to me because I was watching the games with my college friends (and sometimes my father) and engaging in adult conversations about the Tigers and Baseball.
The Tigers have not won the World Series since.
Most of all, I remember the summer of 1984 and how it re-kindled my forgotten love of Baseball.
I think puberty turned me temporarily insane. I didn't really fully grow out of the insanity until I was in my forties.
But early on, I remembered how much I loved Baseball, and I have been devoted ever since.
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| Hat is from Spring Training 2009 which I attended with my best pal. Hat is a purged gift from him. Photo courtesy of Robert Tower |
I love books about Baseball. Here's a picture of me posing with some of my books about the Tigers (though not all of my books about the Tigers) and all my books written by Ernie Harwell, most of which are signed.
This love of Baseball books should not surprise anyone. After all, I am the writerly, bookish type. Naturally, one of the things I love best about Baseball is the study of Baseball: statistics, stories, and history. The LORE. This is what Ernie gave me a passion for: THE LORE. He told the legends of Baseball both big and small like no other storyteller I have ever heard speak about Baseball.
I have written eight posts (including this one) about Baseball since I started the blog. I have written all but one of these Baseball posts about the Detroit Tigers.
ERNIE HARWELL
Ernie took over as the voice of the Detroit Tigers two years before I was born (1960) and finally retired the year I was 38 years old (which was also the year my mother almost died from bacterial meningitis). For 38 years of my life, Ernie was the voice of the Detroit Tigers. As I wrote in T-shirt #115, I think I nailed it:
"I love listening to Baseball on the radio. This is one of the central truths of my love for Baseball. It is presented in its most classic form on the radio. I grew up listening to the Detroit Tigers on the radio, the sonorous voice of Ernie Harwell crackling across my AM band, hand-sized transistor late into the night."I am nothing if not self-referential and meticulous about the ongoing story I am constructing in these virtual pages.
Thank you, Ernie. I miss you.
2013 TIGERS
There are high hopes for our Detroit Tigers this year. They made it to the World Series last year but lost to the San Francisco Giants. A lot of chatter holds with the idea that if the Tigers had opened that series at home, they would have won.
Most Tigers fans expect the Tigers to go back and win it this year. Surely that's possible. But for many fans, it's almost a certainty, and they place unreasonable expectations on this year's team.
True, Six players were All Stars.
True, the team is much the same as last year's with the addition of a returned Victor Martinez. Pitching from Scherzer has been epic. And though many grumble that the Tigers need a bonafide "closer," I do not hold with the magic of a special person that closes games. They just need good pitchers in the pen. Anyone can pitch at the end of the game. If the pitcher is a good one, he will not give up runs very often. If he is not so good, he will often be shelled.
After the Tigers won the World Series in 1984, given the talent of the team, given the number of great players on the team, people expected a dynasty, expected them to return every year for at least the rest of the 1980s. They did not play in the Series again for 22 years.
Some of the players on the current team have done what neither the 1968 nor the 1984 team could do: play in the World Series twice (2006 and 2012) in six years.
They say that "three times is the charm."
BLESS YOU BOYS!
Have a great second half of the season. First pitch of game 95 is minutes away.
GO TIGERS!
- chris tower - 1307.19 - 20:07 (first pitch tonight at 20:10).
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1807.28 - 10:10
- Days ago = 1120 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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