Sweet Lou Whitaker strikes a surprisingly bitter note regarding Jack Morris’ HOF chances

Yesterday, we touched on the Hall-of-Fame plight of three members of the 1984 Detroit Tigers, specifically Jack Morris and Alan Trammell. We discussed Tram and Morris a bit more because another legitimate candidate, Lou Whitaker, is not even eligible on the current ballot.

It seems the slight of the baseball writers is causing former teammates to turn on one another, specifically Whitaker on Morris.

Speaking on Sirius-XM’s MLB Network Radio on Friday, Whitaker has this to say to host Jim Bowden:

Jack Morris was no better than Alan Trammell-Lou Whitaker. If we didn’t make the plays, and we didn’t come up with the big hits, Jack Morris wouldn’t be where he was, or where he is.

Whitaker softened a bit, acknowledging that Jack was “a stud” and “probably” is a Hall-of-Famer, but chuckled when Bowden asked if the pitcher should be inducted before his former double-play partner, Trammell.

If Jack deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, Alan Trammell deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

It could be understood why Sweet Lou is a bit bitter, having inexplicably received just 2.9 percent of the votes on his first and only ballot in 2001. Rules dictate that a player be dropped from the ballot when failing to receive five percent of the vote. Whitaker ranks up there with many Hall-of-Famer second basemen, including Joe Morgan

The surprising thing is that instead of venting his anger at sportswriters for failing to elect a single member of the 1984 World Championship Tigers, Whitaker is turning on one of his own. Though many expect Morris to fall short on his final ballot, to be announced this coming Wednesday, most believe he stands a better chance at getting in than Trammell, who garnered a little over 50 percent of the vote last year.

Morris will not be eligible after this year and Trammell will fall off after next year. All three players will be eligible for induction via the Veteran’s Committee beginning in 2016.