Alan Trammell Wins Long Overdue Election To Hall Of Fame

It took over 15 years of waiting, but Alan Trammell is finally in the Baseball Hall of Fame. With 13 out of 16 votes, the Modern Baseball Era committee chose the longtime Detroit Tigers shortstop to finally gain entrance to Cooperstown, after never getting more than 37% on the traditional writers’ ballots.

Trammell was by no means a shoo-in, and he was more of a candidate based on longevity than any sustained period of dominance, but as a peer of Cal Ripken Jr, Barry Larkin, Ozzie Smith, and Robin Yount, he doesn’t seem out of place. He had a career wRC+ of 111, and a WAR of 63.7 over a career that lasted from 1977 to 1996. His best season came in ’87, when he slugged a career-best 28 dingers with a .343 average. If he had stayed out, Trammell almost certainly would have gone down as the best shortstop not in the Hall.

Jack Morris, a teammate of Trammell’s in Detroit, was also elected.