A Possible Bright Spot for Detroit Baseball

The ballot for the Veterans Committee vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame came out a few days ago, and it's mostly "round up the usual suspects." Of the ten names on the list, eight have been there before. The only two new names are both associated with the Detroit Tigers, who have not had a Hall of Famer inducted since Hal Newhouser 25 years ago.

The Tigers have a bunch of players in the Hall, including Ty Cobb, but there has been a drought, and three of the players on their last world championship in 1984 have been argued for in their years of eligibility. Two of them made the cut this year: Jack Morris and Alan Trammell, while Lou Whitaker was left off.

Morris seems the most likely inductee, while I think Trammell deserves it more. Morris was 254 and and 186 for his 18 years, with a 3.90 ERA (this would be the highest career ERA of any pitcher in the Hall). He was also a durable pitcher, and was the ace of three different World Series winners. That did not convince the baseball writers, who narrowly kept him out: his highest vote total was in 2013 when he got 67 percent. That is the highest percentage of the nine players on the ballot, so I think he has the best shot.

Trammell, criminally, never got more than 40 percent of the vote, which he did in his last year of eligibility. He was the best shortstop in the American League for several years, and ended up with 2385 hits and an OPS of .787, including a ridiculous .953 in 1987, the year he got jobbed out of the MVP (he also hit .343 that hear and had a .402 OBP). These are great numbers for a shortstop, and he was no slouch in the field, with a 22 dWAR (and a 62 oWAR). His career total of Runs Better than Average is 375; wins is 40.

It would be great if they could go in together. Some Detroit partisans are sad that Trammell's double-play partner, Lou Whitaker, is not on the ballot. Many say they are the best DP combination ever; they were the longest to play together.

The other eight men have been here before. The only one of them I see getting in is Marvin Miller, who missed by a whisker the last time. He is not a player, of course, but was the head of the Major League Players Association, and engineered vast increases in player wealth as well as free agency. Owners may not have liked him much, but he did revolutionize the game.

The other seven players all have their supporters, but have not come close before, so it's a wonder why they keep coming back. I think Don Mattingly, Tommy John, and Ted Simmons have the best cases. Mattingly's biggest numbers came in only five seasons, but compare his totals to Kirby Puckett, who is in, and see how close they are. John has 288 wins, the most of any pitcher not to be in the Hall, and Simmons had great numbers, but was eclipsed by Johnny Bench most of his career.

The rest, Steve Garvey, Luis Tiant, Dale Murphy, and Dave Parker, had great careers but are not Hall worthy, in my opinion.

My guess is that Morris and Miller will get in, with Trammell coming close.