On Sunday, just under 22 years after his final game played, longtime Detroit Tigers shortstop Alan Trammell will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Trammell will enter the Hall with five other players, including his former teammate, pitcher Jack Morris.
Considering that Trammell played in the same era as Ozzie Smith, Cal Ripken Jr. and Robin Yount, it’s easy understand why he was overlooked for so long when it came time to vote for the Hall of Fame. He spent 15 years on the BBWAA ballot, never getting close to the 75% needed for induction. Trammell peaked in his final year on the ballot (in 2016) when he received 41% support.
Anyway, the Modern Baseball Committee, today’s version of the Veterans Committee, decided to put both Trammell and Morris into the Hall.
If you would like to see the case for why Alan Trammell is worthy of the Hall of Fame plaque that will soon be unveiled, please click here. Here’s the short version:
Cooperstown Cred: Alan Trammell:
- Career: .285 BA, 185 HR, 1,003 RBI, 2,365 hits, 236 SB
- Career: 110 OPS+, 70.7 WAR
- 1984 World Series MVP: .450 BA, 2 HR, 6 RBI
- Runner-up in 1987 A.L. MVP Vote: .343 BA, 28 HR, 105 RBI, 109 Runs
- 1,307 career double plays turned (7th most all-time for shortstops)
- 6-time All-Star
- 4-time Gold Glove Winner
(Cover photo: USA Today Sports)
Without further ado, here are Alan Trammell’s top 10 Hall of Fame moments, including the great games in his 20-year career.
#10. May 22, 1991: Orioles v Tigers
In this regular season contest at Tiger Stadium, the Orioles’ David Segui hit a medium-high line drive. Trammell leaped and snared it, snow-coning the ball. By itself the play isn’t particularly momentous (the Tigers had a 4-run lead in the 9th) but it’s a video representation of the prowess the 4-time Gold Glover had with the leather.
#9. Actually, this is 1,307 Moments
The first “moment” isn’t really a moment but the accumulation of 1,307 moments. In his 20-year career, Alan Trammell turned 1,307 double plays, the 7th most for a shortstop in the history of the game. The vast majority of those 1,307 twin killings were authored in tandem with his long-time partner at 2nd base, Lou Whitaker, who played in Detroit with Trammell for 19 seasons.
If you combine excellence and longevity as teammates, there’s little doubt that Trams and Sweet Lou were the best keystone duo in the history of the game.
#8. May 14, 1980: A’s v Tigers
In this game against the Oakland A’s, the 22-year old Trammell went 4 for 4, all singles.
The last one is what puts this game on the list. The Tigers were trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the 9th inning. With 2 outs and the bases loaded, Trammell delivered a base hit to right field off Steve McCatty. Two runs scored to give the Tigers a 6-5 victory on the first of his 14 career walk-off hits.
#7. August 12, 1983: Yankees v Tigers
In 1983, the Tigers and Yankees were in a five-way battle with Milwaukee, Baltimore and Toronto for the American League East, with all five teams within 2.5 games of the lead. In this tilt, Trammell went 3 for 5 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI.
The second tater (a two-out solo shot off Dale Murray) helped the Tigers tie the score in the bottom of the 9th inning when faced with a 6-5 deficit. Larry Herndon won the game for Detroit in the bottom of the 10th with another solo blast off Murray.
#6. October 1, 1987: Orioles v Tigers
This is the first of great Alan Trammell moments that occurred on consecutive days at the end of the 1987 regular season.
In this tilt, at Tiger Stadium against the Baltimore Orioles, Trammell went 3 for 5 while notching his 200th hit of the season with a single off Mike Boddicker. The MVP candidate, in the midst of his best season, helped the Tigers win 9-5, pulling them to within one game of the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East race that went down to the final weekend.
#5. October 2, 1987: Blue Jays v Tigers
On the final weekend of the season, he Tigers opened a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays, with the two teams battling for the A.L. East lead. The Jays came into the contest with a one-game lead in the standings.
In bottom of the 3rd, with the Tigers trailing 3-2, Alan Trammell hit a home run to left-center field off Jays’ starter Jim Clancy to tie the score at 3. The Tigers scored again to take a 4-3 lead, which was all the scoring in the game.
In the bottom of the 9th, Trammell turned a double play on a come-backer to pitcher Mike Henneman to preserve the win. The victory put the Tigers in a tie with the Jays at 96 wins apiece with two games to play.
#4. October 3, 1987: Blue Jays v Tigers
In the second game of the three-game set with Toronto, the Tigers’ Jack Morris and the Jays’ Mike Flanagan dueled for 9 innings, giving up just 2 runs each. The game progressed into the bottom of the 12th inning, still tied at 2. With one out, Whitaker and third baseman Bill Madlock each reached base on singles. Rookie infielder Jim Walewander was brought in to pinch run for Whitaker. Right fielder Kirk Gibson was up next but drew a walk from lefty Jeff Musselman.
With the bases loaded, Jays manager Jimy Williams brought in a side-arming right-hander, Mark Eichhorn, to face Trammell with the bases loaded. The Tigers’ shortstop proceeded to stroke a ground ball single into left field. Walewander scored, the Tigers won 3-2 and took a one game lead in the A.L. East with one game to play.
Click here to watch the walk-off (you’ll need to scroll all the way to the end of the video at 4:28:38 to see the game-winning hit). To be fair, the ball went through the legs of shortstop Manny Lee but the ball was hit hard and the official scorer gave Trammell credit for a single despite what announcers Bob Costas and Tony Kubek said on the telecast.
Anyway, the next day, in a matchup of crafty lefties, veteran Frank Tanana out-pitched Toronto’s Jimmy Key 1-0 to clinch the A.L. East for Detroit.
1987 was Trammell’s best season and many people feel that he deserved to be the A.L. MVP. Instead he was runner-up to the Jays’ George Bell.
#3. October 2, 1984: ALCS Game 1 (Tigers v Royals)
In the American League Championship Series against the Kansas City Royals, Trammell and most of his Tiger teammates appeared in their first post-season series. The Tigers, who were wire-to-wire winners in the A.L. East, winning 104 regular season games, were heavy favorites. Expectations were high.
After a leadoff single by Lou Whitaker, Trammell stroked a triple to left field off Royals’ starter Bud Black to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Trammell followed that up with a solo home run in the 5th and an RBI single in the 7th. All and all, Trammell went 3 for 3 in his first post-season game). The Tigers won easily 8-1 and swept the series in 3 games.
#2. June 21, 1988: Yankees v Tigers
By 1988, even while playing in the shadow of Cal Ripken Jr., Alan Trammell was a genuine star. He was on the way to the 5th of his 6th All-Star appearances. In this contest, Tigers were trailing the New York Yankees 6-1 coming into the bottom of the 9th inning.
Yankee closer Dave Righetti issued two bases loaded walks to allow the Tigers to pull within 3 runs. That left Trammell up with two outs and the bases loaded, representing the winning run.
With Righetti struggling, Yankees manager Billy Martin, in the middle of his last season skippering the team, made a change. Martin brought in a right-hander, Cecilio Guante. On a 3-2 pitch, Trammell turned the 6-3 deficit into a 7-6 victory with a grand slam home run deep to left field.
By “Win Probability” on Baseball Reference, the Tigers had less than a 1% chance of winning the game at the start of the inning. By the time Trammell strode to the plate, the odds were still just 9%. By WPA (Win Probability Added), Trammell got 0.91 “points” by turning a game with a 9% chance of winning into a victory.
#1. October 13, 1984: World Series Game 4
The Tigers were up 2 games to 1 as they entered Game 4 of the World Series in Detroit. The team’s workhorse ace, Jack Morris, was on the mound.
Alan Trammell blasted a two-run home run off Eric Show in the bottom of the first and hit another one in the bottom of the 3rd, scoring Whitaker both times. The four runs were all starter Jack would need in the Tigers 4-2 win. Overall, Trammell hit .450 in the Tigers’ 5-game World Series win, good enough to earn him MVP honors for the Fall Classic.
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more Hall of Fame moments in the days to come, featuring the other five players who will have plaques unveiled in Cooperstown on Sunday.
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