Spencer Torkelson and the Worst Debuts in Detroit Tigers History

Worst Detroit Tigers Debut Number 8 – Alan Trammell

We purposely finish on a high note here. MLB owners have always operated just above the standards set by cartoon supervillains, but there was a time when they didn’t actively manipulate the service time of their young stars. And so it was that in 1977 a 19-year-old Alan Trammell was called up to Detroit after just 196 games in the minors.

Tram went just 8-for-43 in his 19 games, with no extra-base hits, 4 walks, 12 strikeouts, and 2 errors at shortstop. Major League Baseball is incredibly hard, and even future Hall-of-Famers can be overwhelmed when first faced with that level of talent.