Detroit Tigers Roundtable: A Potential Scherzer Deal, Late-Inning Relievers, and More

Jun 25, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks coach Alan Trammell before the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Rank in order the Hall of Fame worthiness of the following eligible Tigers. Jack Morris, Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell, and Bill Freehan.

Michael Emmerich: 1. Trammell (a no-questions-asked Hall of Famer) 2. Whitaker (just a shade below Trammell) 3. Freehan (has a surprisingly strong case) 4. Morris (not deserving and everything that is wrong with Hall of Fame voting; 1930s Tiger Tommy Bridges has a much stronger case than Morris, in my opinion)

Matt Pelc: Trammell, Whitaker, Morris, Freehan

Tom Zahari: I cannot give a fair answer to this question because I did not see these guys play live.

Blair Tatrault: I like Alan Trammell, Jack Morris, Lou Whitaker, and Bill Freehan, in that order. They fall pretty close together in HOF worthiness, which is to say on the cusp. An argument can be made for and against the inclusion of each in the HOF, but it’s obvious their chances of getting voted in suffer by having played outside of the major media glare in Detroit.

Chris Hannum: Tram, Lou, Freehan, Morris.

Grant Stoye: Alan Trammell (because it’s a travesty he’s not in yet), Cecil Fielder (THE HARBINGER OF THE MODERN POWER HITTER), Bill Freehan (a very good offensive catcher for his time, worth 44.8 WAR over his career, and a WS championship…and AS MVP if you count that sort of thing), Jack Morris, Lou Whitaker.

Josh Paulisin: Freehan, Trammell/Whitaker (tie), Morris. Ten consecutive All-Star appearances as well five straight Gold Gloves vaulted Freehan to the top of my list. Deciding between Trammell and Whitaker is like trying to decide whether you want to date Kate Upton or Jessica Alba. Frankly, I’d pick either. Same with Trammell and Lou. And I guess there must be a reason Morris hasn’t been elected to the Hall of Fame after 15 tries right?

Matt Snyder: Trammell and Whitaker absolutely need to be in the hall. Freehan was well before my time (he was my dad’s favorite player so I grew up hearing about him), but he does have sneaky good numbers (14th in JAWS score for catchers). Just not quite good enough numbers to get in. (It’s absolutely correct for us to celebrate the career achievements of Jack Morris, but he doesn’t have Hall of Fame numbers and, despite what anyone says, The Hall has always been about numbers.

Sam O’Toole: Trammell, Morris, Whitaker, Freehan. The most difficult part of the order was between Trammell and Morris. Trammell was tremendous offensively and defensively for the Tigers during their glory days in the 1980s; he also played a premium position as well. Morris racked up 254 wins, over 3,800 innings and nearly 2,500 strikeouts. His ERA is inflated, but he was a five-time all star, finished in the top five of the Cy Young voting five times, and even received votes for MVP five different times. I see Morris’ hall of fame worthiness higher than both Whitaker and Freehan.