Trammell, Morris denied Hall again
posted in 2007-08 offseason |The Hall of Fame voting results were announced, with former Tiger greats Alan Trammell and Jack Morris again denied entry. Not that I’m advocating either.
Trammell, to me, is a borderline case. It would be great if he did make it, because he hit well, he fielded well, and he signed a baseball card for your blogger in the late 80s. That last point is especially valid, I feel. But with so much argument both ways, among the statistically minded as well as statistically clueless, I can see how it’s an uphill battle. On the otherhand, I used the words “uphill” and kind of think he should gain some more momentum than he did, but instead, the Baseball Writers of America gave him just 18.2% approval. Certainly, Tram was more deserving of votes than more “famous” but less statistically accomplished Jack Morris, who got 42.9 percent.
I’ve posited in the past I think it really is a Hall of Fame not a hall of statistically excellent players. That’s the only figuring I can come up with for how the voting goes. And Morris did do a lot of winning and was the ace of some good teams. So I think history is kinder to him than Trammell, who failed to really hit any of the benchmarks voters tend to use (3000 hits, 300 wins, etc.)
I don’t know. I don’t have much faith in the voting or the hall myself. But I tend to be a guy who doesn’t see the need for official recognitions or awards either. Whether they be movie, music, TV or sports, awards just never seem to jive with what people see as reality. It’s a bunch of hooey when you get right down to it.
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I forgot to mention Goose Gossage got in; nobody else did.
Should have done more blog research before posting. Baseball Musings points to Baseball Crank, which has a trend analysis. So we can see Trammell’s 18.2 percent is in fact the high water mark, a year after he received 13.4 percent (and yet, two years after 17.7). Translation: These voters are a confused bunch but it doesn’t seem like Trammell will ever bust through with that group.
As you already know, I find the inconsistencies of the BBWAA absolutely maddening. I’ve got to accept the fact that the HOF fates of Trammell, Whitaker, and Morris will rest in the hands of the Veteran’s Committee. If the Vets will vote the likes of George Kell in, they should have a very good chance. (As much as I love George Kell from his years as the TV voice of the Tigers, is he a true HOFer?)
Trammell’s continued lack of support (and Whitaker’s before him) astounds me. He isn’t a no-brainer, but neither is he a marginal candidate. Very disappointing, as usual.
I was 11 yrs old in ‘84, so obviously I grew up with these guys and love them all dearly. That said, I don’t think Trammell should ever get the nod. He was a great shortstop for a lot of years, but not truly fame material.
Morris on the other hand — it baffles me. The guy won more games than ANY other pitcher in the 1980’s. That means of the 100 or so years baseball has been keeping track of numbers (pre-1900 is a bit shaky imo) he won more games than any other pitcher for 10% of that time. That alone should be enough. Couple that with significant milestones and achievements (that absurd 10 inning shutout performance in the playoffs, amongst his other accomplishments (no hitter etc)), He should be a shoe-in, and it would be a shame if he didn’t get in there.
Morris was fortunate to be on some very good teams that scored a lot of runs and made up for the fact he put his team behind in 2/3s of games he started and blew a lot of leads he did have.
Baseball Prospectus:
“I tracked a couple of extra categories for Morris, things that I thought might fit someone “pitching to the score.” Morris made 527 starts, and in 235 of them, 44.6%, he gave up the first run of the game. He had 41 career starts in which he allowed no runs, so unless he was perfect that day Morris was as likely as not to put the Tigers behind.
“Setting aside those games in which he allowed the first run, Morris gave up a Tiger lead in another 109 starts. [Note: the definition of "blowing a lead" is extremely generous. Morris had to be on the mound when the go-ahead run scored. This excludes all leads blown by relievers, even if the runs scoring were charged to Morris.]” (http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1815)
Here’s another link that tells why a lot of people don’t see Morris as a Hall of Famer: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1324
No argument that he was a very good pitcher, but he wasn’t near the most dominant of his time. Ask yourself if he’d still be a hall of famer caliber if he pitched for a team that looked more like the Tigers of the 90s than the 80s. My answer would have be “no.”
About George Kell:
I looked up his stats – he batted over .300 10 times in a 15 year career (compared to 7 times in 20 years for Trammell) He was named to the all-star team 10 times (5 times for Trammell). He was considered the premier defensive 3rd baseman of his time. None of this is to put down Trammell, but rather to point out that Kell sets a higher bar than you’re giving him credit for.
Whitaker and Trammell are borderline candidates but it’s silly how little support they’ve gotten. Whitaker getting bumped off the ballot in the first year was one of the biggest HoF injustices ever. Trammell deserves better too. Both of them should be up there with the likes of Dawson and Rice getting consideration each year.
I don’t think Morris belongs in the Hall of Fame. He was very good and durable but not Hall of Fame quality.
Kell played in 10 all-star games but if you look up his stats for those years, he didn’t deserve half of them. He was a very good all around player but I think Trammell and Whitaker are better candidates. When you consider power and walks along with BA, Whitaker and Trammell were just as good offensively. They also had longer careers and were middle infielders