Tigers Legends Morris & Trammell To Be Inducted Into Cooperstown

Detroit Tigers fans must be stoked right now.

A short time ago on the MLB Network, it was announced that the Modern Era Veterans Committee have voted both Jack Morris and Alan Trammell into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. They will be inducted in July.

Morris and Trammell were both members of the 1984 Detroit Tigers which won the World Series after beginning the season 35-5. They are the first Tigers to be inducted into Cooperstown since Al Kaline in 1980. They are also the first living players to be elected by the Veterans Committee since 2001 when Bill Mazeroski was so elevated. Trammell spent his entire 20-year MLB career playing at the corner of Michigan & Trumbull while Morris also won World Series rings with the Minnesota Twins and the Toronto Blue Jays in 1991 and 1992, respectively.

In 18 big league seasons, aside from three World Series rings with three teams, Morris won 254 games and was the winningest pitcher in MLB during the 1980's although he never won a AL Cy Young Award. Morris was on the Hall of Fame ballot from 2000 through 2014. After earning 67.7% of the vote in 2013 there was hope he would get in during his final year on the ballot but he would fall to 61.5% the year Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas joined the ballot.

While Morris came within striking distance of getting elected by the BBWAA, Trammell only reached 40% of the vote once and that was his last year on the ballot in 2016. In 20 seasons with the Tigers, Trammell earned a World Series ring plus a World Series MVP, four Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers, a .285 lifetime batting average and 2,365 hits.

Now that Trammell has been inducted in Cooperstown how far behind can Lou Whitaker be? After all, Trammell and Whitaker are the greatest double play combination in MLB history. How can you enshrine Trammell without enshrining Sweet Lou?

The Detroit Tigers might not have much to be excited about in 2018. But they will be feeling very happy on the last Sunday in July. Congratulations to both Morris and Trammell. Their induction is long overdue.