Idiotic baseball writers ignore Alan Trammell one more time

For the 14th inexplicable time, Alan Trammell did not garner enough support (25 percent, needed 75 percent for induction) from idiotic and pig-headed baseball writers and will not be inducted into the Baseball Hall-of-Fame for the foreseeable future.

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The 2015 class includes former Tigers’ prospect John Smoltz, Craig Biggio, Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson. Worthy candidates, no doubt, but why is Trammel not considered worthy?

Tram, along with other inexcusable Tigers’ 1984 snubs Lou Whitaker and Jack Morris, will eventually be eligible for induction via the Veteran’s Committee. That backdoor method could also be a long road, however, as that committee does not meet and induct candidates on a yearly basis and next convenes in 2016, the final year that Trammell will be on the writer’s ballot.

I would challenge baseball writers to explain themselves on Trammell–none ever really do. The argument against Tram has always been just one championship (hmm like Barry Larkin and Ozzie Smith???) and a relatively low batting average.

Please.

Refer to an earlier rage filled post on this subject from last month.

Let’s take a look at the career statistics for two players.19 seasons: 1,257 runs, 2,460 hits, 402 doubles, 69 triples, 28 homers, 793 RBIs, .978 fielding percentage20 seasons: 1,231 runs, 2,365 hits, 412 doubles, 55 triples, 185 homers, 1,003 RBIs, .977 fielding percentageThe first line is for Ozzie Smith, who was inducted on the first ballot in 2002. The second is for Alan Trammell, who never receives more than 50 percent of the vote and will be in his final year of eligibility in 2016.Those lines are almost identical if you consider there is some better numbers for Smith and some better numbers for Tram. Of course, Tram never did back flips in the World Series.If you put Tram’s numbers in the prism of the WAR-based JAWS statistic, you’ll see he ranks 11th all time for shortstops. This means he is the highest ranking shortstop in the modern era not already in the Hall-of-Fame, and is ahead of several Hall-of-Famers including Barry Larkin, Lou Boudreau, Pee Wee Reese, and others.National publication Deadspin also pled Tram’s case recently. Here’s an excerpt:Trammell had essentially the same top-3 and top-7 GPA as Banks, Ripken, Yount, and Larkin. Based on an open-source fielding evaluation system we’ll be discussing shortly, he also saved more runs in the field than any of those three. Trammell was actually very close in overall value to Larkin.Larkin is probably in the Hall because his lifetime batting average of .295 was close enough to .300 for him to be perceived as basically a .300 hitter, and perhaps also because he once hit over 30 home runs back when that was still considered miraculous for a shortstop.Trammell is probably out (so far) because his .285 lifetime batting average, though very high for a career shortstop, wasn’t close enough to .300 for him to be perceived as a so-called .300 hitter, and because he never hit 30 homers, though he did hit 28 once.(If this seems reductive, take it up with the baseball writers.)It’s very important to keep in mind that the above GPAs are normalized to the level of offense in the American League during the past 20 years. Trammell’s official statistics look more modest than Larkin’s because all of his full-time seasons preceded the offensive boom that began in 1993, while most of Larkin’s full-time seasons occurred after 1992.This is clear evidence of a bias against Detroit in sporting circles. Other places may have dismissed the #DetroitVSEverybody motto that went viral before the Detroit Lions playoff debacle on Sunday, but the outcome of that “game” proved the validity of that hashtag, no?Alan Trammell is in his rightful place back in Detroit with the Tigers’ organization. He will, one day, be in his other rightful place of Cooperstown. It is just a travesty and an injustice that he didn’t get in a decade ago.Next: Tigers sign LHP Gorzelanny Trammell had essentially the same top-3 and top-7 GPA as Banks, Ripken, Yount, and Larkin. Based on an open-source fielding evaluation system we’ll be discussing shortly, he also saved more runs in the field than any of those three. Trammell was actually very close in overall value to Larkin.Larkin is probably in the Hall because his lifetime batting average of .295 was close enough to .300 for him to be perceived as basically a .300 hitter, and perhaps also because he once hit over 30 home runs back when that was still considered miraculous for a shortstop.Trammell is probably out (so far) because his .285 lifetime batting average, though very high for a career shortstop, wasn’t close enough to .300 for him to be perceived as a so-called .300 hitter, and because he never hit 30 homers, though he did hit 28 once.(If this seems reductive, take it up with the baseball writers.)It’s very important to keep in mind that the above GPAs are normalized to the level of offense in the American League during the past 20 years. Trammell’s official statistics look more modest than Larkin’s because all of his full-time seasons preceded the offensive boom that began in 1993, while most of Larkin’s full-time seasons occurred after 1992.