Alan Trammell Should be in the Hall of Fame

Now a days I strongly believe that the Hall of Fame is not about the stats on the field, it's about if you upset anyone, wasn't friendly to the media or which media member's ego you stroked the most. With that being said I also believe that a Hall of Famer needs to present himself in a professional manner off the diamond. Alan Trammell, was a great player on the field and he was nothing but professional off of the field. He wasn't flashy, he didn't get into trouble, and he was not a player that the media could get a witty quote from. Trammell was just a player that did his job every day and carried the English D with pride.

Here is a short list of shortstops that were elected in to the Hall of Fame and their stats compared to Alan Trammell (his rankings in () among this list):

 

	Ave	OBP	SLG	Hits	HR	RBI	Runs	SB
Ozzie Smith	.262	.337	.328	2,460	28	793	1,257	580
Barry Larkin	.295	.371	.344	2,340	198	960	1,329	379
Phil Rizzuto	.273	.351	.355	1,588	38	563	877	149
Pee Wee Reese	.269	.366	.377	2,170	126	885	1,388	232
Alan Trammell	.285	.352	.415	2,365	185	1,003	1,231	236
	(2nd)	(3rd)	(2nd)	(2nd)	(2nd)	(1st)	(4th)	(3rd)

Stats came from Baseball Almanac and Baseball-Reference.com

One may think, well that is all fine and good, but there is also fielding. OK, in fielding within this same list, Alan Trammell’s fielding percentage is .977 and he is only behind Ozzie Smith which has a .978 fielding percentage.  He also, only ranks behind Ozzie Smith with Gold Gloves as well, Smith won 13 Gold Gloves while Trammell won 4 (Larkin has 3 and the Gold Glove was not awarded during Rizzuto and Reese’s era).

After all of the my preaching and all of the stats I threw out at you the bottom line is this, the voters of the Hall of Fame need to step back and remember what puts a player in the Hall of Fame.  It’s the professionalism the player showed, career stats and how he treated the game.  It’s not how high one can do a back flip or how charming one can be to the media.  If the voters can clear their minds of that then Alan Trammell will be a Hall of Famer.

Performance-enhancing drugs: Record Books not the only thing that was cheated!

Since the flood gates open regarding performance-enhancing drugs in MLB most of the topics that are discussed in the sports media are:

  1) Are the record books tainted?
  2) Does the drugs really help the players?
  3) Should the players in that era be inducted into the Hall of Fame?
  4) Would you do if it was worth millions of dollars in salary?

Well, these are nice topics, but I have never heard the one topic that I am most angry about when I think about the performance-enhancing drugs era and the influence it had in MLB:  MLB fans got cheated out of a great era of baseball. Think of some of the greats in the steroid/HGH era:

1.      Mark McGwire (Broke the single season record for home runs – 70 (1998), 583 home runs which ranks 9th all-time)

2.      Roger Clemens (354 wins 8th all-time with a 3.14 ERA and 4,672 strikeouts, the third-most all time over a 24 year career)

3.      Barry Bonds (762 home runs all-time home run leader)

4.      Rafael Palmeiro (569 Home Runs, ranked 12th all-time)

5.      Alex Rodriguez (643 Home Runs ranked 5th all-time)

All of the players I listed above would have been Hall of Famers without the use of performance-enhancing drugs, but with the accusation, Mitchell Report or the admission of using, their greatness has and will always be tarnish just like the fan's view of them. We as fans in this era was robbed of telling our kids and our grandchildren the stories that our fathers, mothers, grandparents, aunts and uncles told us about watching Hank Greenberg, Charlie Gehringer, Dizzy Dean, Rogers Hornsby, etc. and how great it was growing up in the era in baseball. When we bring up Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens years down the road, the debate will not be was he the best player in that era, it will always be would he have been that great without it.

My baseball generation will be known as the Hall of Famers that could have been, because the greats in my time will never make the Hall of Fame.

Nick Castellanos Tigers future Second Baseman?

With the MLB trading deadline rapidly approaching, there are many rumors of the Detroit Tigers trading for a second baseman, which I will be OK with only if it’s a rental and the Tigers don’t give up too much in the trade.  Why a rental because I personally think they already have their future second baseman in the farm system, Nick Castellanos. With this being said, I would not rush Nick Castellanos up this year, if the Tigers want to see what he can do with major league pitching then bring him up when the rosters are extended at the end of the year, but I would not play him in any new positions till next year.

There are also reports stating the Tigers are trying Nick in left field, one question...Why? Currently you have Jackson, Berry, Boesch and Dirks (when he gets off of the DL). I am probably in the minority, but I would give Boesch and Dirks time, this is the second season for both in the major leagues and they both show pop in their bats. Nick Castellanos, will only get lost in the shuffle, especially with Leyland at the helm, how Leyland plays musical chairs in the outfield, Nick will not get enough at bats to show his true potential. Second base will be Nick's for the taking and he will not feel any pressure on being replaced, why because there is no one to replace him with. I don't see anyone screaming put in Ryan Rayburn.

I also hear the argument that his 6' 4", 200 LB frame is too big for second base. My reply is who is arguably the best 2nd baseman in MLB today?  The answer: Robinson Cano and his profile: 6'0" and 210 LB.  Even the great Jackie Robinson was 5’11” and 195 LB.

The Detroit Tigers need to look within the organization and ask themselves, what do we have in the farm system and can the farm system fill in the  holes on the major league team? Yes, I know the Tigers (and probably all MLB teams ask themselves that question every year), but the problem is if the answer is yes, then the Tigers need to make the move, even if it’s not a popular one and the fans need to be patient and be open to the decision. I am as impatient as the next sports fan and want results now, but if all involved from the MLB club to the fans and especially the player that would we willing to change positions are on board then everyone wins. The Tigers wouldn't have to trade away their top prospects for rentals or players with huge contracts that would inflate the payroll and if the player is willing to change positions it will get him to the MLB club quicker and the fans patience will be rewarded with many years of success.