Goldman: Alan Trammell belongs in the Hall of Fame, and it doesn’t matter
From SABR member Steven Goldman at VICE Sports on November 18, 2015:
When it comes to catching posterity’s myopic eye, Alan Trammell has a problem. If you haven’t heard of Trammell—and if you’re a baseball fan under the age of 30, there’s no reason why you should have, given that his last interesting season was in 1993—he was a Detroit Tigers great, the MVP of the 1984 World Series, a four-time Gold Glover and a six-time All-Star who is about to be none-too-gently ushered off the annual Hall of Fame ballot after 15 years of neglected residence.
Whether you witnessed Trammell’s career or came late and are trying to place him via the back of his baseball card, there is no way to take an objective look at his career without reaching the conclusion that he was one of the 10 best shortstops of all time, and most certainly was at the time his career ended. A few shortstops had higher peaks, some had longer careers, and a small handful were better defenders for longer, but none of that takes away from his accomplishments. The Baseball Writers Association of America, Cooperstown’s gatekeepers, are about to give him the bum’s rush anyway.
Read the full article here: https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/alan-trammell-belongs-in-the-hall-of-fame-and-it-doesnt-matter
Originally published: November 18, 2015. Last Updated: November 18, 2015.