The Keltner List

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Since two posters mentioned Trammell, and since he's a favorite, we'll run him through the motions here....

 

1. Was he ever regarded as the best player in baseball? Did anybody, while he was active, ever suggest that he was the best player in baseball?

 

Probably not. Trammell led the American League in Win Shares in 1987, but this quesion isn't meant to mean in just a single year.

 

2. Was he the best player on his team?

 

Yes, from 1984-90, Trammell was the best player on the Detroit Tigers.

 

3. Was he the best player in baseball at his position? Was he the best player in the league at his position?

 

At times, yes. Trammell led ML shortstops in Win Shares in 1987 and 1990. He was among the leaders consistantly, falling only to Ozzie Smith and Cal Ripken, who are HOF caliber players.

 

4. Did he have an impact on a number of pennant races?

 

Yes. He hit 338/399/515 in August and 321/402/432 in September to drive the '84 Tigers to the AL East crown. In 1987, when the Tigers edged the Blue Jays by two games, Trammell hit .416 in the month of September, with a .573 slugging percentage. A reasonable argument can be made that the Tigers may not have won the division if not for Trammell.

 

5. Was he good enough that he could play regularly after passing his prime?

 

No. His days as a regular were gone when he was 34, but he stuck around as a role player.

 

6. Is he the very best baseball player in history who is not in the Hall of Fame?

 

Doubtful. I've advocated the candidacy of Ron Santo previously.

 

7. Are most players who have comparable statistics in the Hall of Fame?

 

Of the ten most similar players to Trammell, six are not yet eligible. The other four are Lou Whitaker, Ryne Sandberg, Pee Wee Reese, and Buddy Bell. Reese is in the Hall. Sandberg SHOULD be in the Hall, and his exclusion is puzzling. The most comparable player to Trammell is Larkin, a HOF candidate himself. It should also be noted that Derek Jeter's most similar player at 29 is Alan Trammell. If you asked fans, many would tell you Jeter is a HOF caliber player.

 

8. Do the player's numbers meet Hall of Fame standards?

 

Not at a glance, although such numbers are biased towards first basemen and outfielders. Trammell never led the league in any offensive category (besides sacrifice hits).

 

9. Is there any evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics?

 

Yes. Trammell was an excellent fielder who won four Gold Gloves, and along with Lou Whitaker, is considered part of one of the five best double play combinations in baseball history. (Dick Groat and Bill Mazeroski, Joe Tinker and Johnny Evers, Ozzie Smith and Tom Herr, anyone I'm forgetting guys?).

 

10. Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame?

 

Yes.

 

11. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close?

 

He finished second in the MVP voting in 1987, behind George Bell. The Bell award is one of the All-Time "what the heck?" moments in MVP voting, as Bell hit 47 home runs but did little else. Trammell also finished in the running in 1984 and 1988.

 

12. How many All-Star-type seasons did he have? How many All-Star games did he play in? Did most of the players who played in this many All-Star games go into the Hall of Fame?

 

Trammell played in six All-Star games, a respectable number.

 

13. If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win the pennant?

 

Yes, Trammell was the best player on the '84 Tigers, who are considered one of the greatest teams in baseball history.

 

14. What impact did the player have on baseball history? Was he responsible for any rule changes? Did he introduce any new equipment? Did he change the game in any way?

 

None apparent.

 

15. Did the player uphold the standards of sportsmanship and character that the Hall of Fame, in its written guidelines, instructs us to consider?

 

Yes. Trammell was not involved in any off-the-field disputes, to my recollection.

 

Conclusion: Alan Trammell deserves the HOF. He was overshadowed, unfairly, by Cal Ripken and the streak. He was one of the greatest shortstops in history. Bill James ranks him 8th All-Time at the position. Joe Cronin, Pee Wee Reese, Phil Rizzuto, and many others of similar quality are in the Hall. Trammell should go as well.

Edited July 30, 2004 by alkeiper

[Guest acnx]

Completely agree with everything written, and I'm really hoping to see Alan get into the hall.

[Bored 0]

It's amazing Trammell has received such little consideration for the HOF and that Lou Whitaker was off the ballot after his first year. Trammell's lack of support is not good news for Barry Larkin.

 

I have a suggestion of who to look at next...Albert Belle.

[Beast 0]

Yeah, it's a real shame that he's been overshadowed by Ripken and Smith. It's sort of comparable to Santo being overshadowed by Banks and Williams on the Cubs alone, and then by Brooks Robinson as a 60's 3rd baseman. It's clear that Trammell and Larkin are similar players, at least statwise, and hopefully they both get in, since they both deserve it. Rizzuto lowered the bar for shortstops getting into the Hall, so one would think that a player of Trammell's ability would have no trouble getting in. Sadly, it doesn't look like Trammell has any chance of getting in, not counting the Veterans Committee, with his consistantly low vote totals. What is worse though, is that Whitaker wasn't even given a nice chance, picking up 2% of the votes and becoming inelgible his first time in. How does even Dave Stewart get more votes then him? It shows you how much the BBWA knows when someone actually votes for Lenny Dykstra to get in.

 

Sidenote: Maz spent the prime of his career working with Gene Alley, not Groat, who was gone by 1962. I don't know the specific stats, but I believe the Alley-Maz combo rates right up with the top of the double play combos. Of course other famous partnerships are Robinson and Reese, and earlier in their career's, Molitor and Yount.

 

Sidenote 2: Thought of another player. I often see Bobby Grich listed as one of the greatest underrated players of all time. Rob Neyer has him listed as the greatest Angel of all, in his Team book. I barely know anything about him though.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Sidenote: Maz spent the prime of his career working with Gene Alley, not Groat, who was gone by 1962. I don't know the specific stats, but I believe the Alley-Maz combo rates right up with the top of the double play combos. Of course other famous partnerships are Robinson and Reese, and earlier in their career's, Molitor and Yount.

 

You're right about Gene Alley. Molitor only played more than 100 games at second once in his career, so I can't see the Molitor/Yount pairing receiving significant noteriety.

 

Sidenote 2: Thought of another player. I often see Bobby Grich listed as one of the greatest underrated players of all time. Rob Neyer has him listed as the greatest Angel of all, in his Team book. I barely know anything about him though.

 

He is one of baseball's most underrated players. He drew walks, hit for power, and played Gold Glove defense. His OPS+ was 125, meaning he hit 25% better than the league average over his career. And this is as a second baseman.

Edited July 30, 2004 by alkeiper

[Crimson Platypus 0]

alkeiper, I really enjoy these, keep it up eh? A couple questions though:

 

It should also be noted that Derek Jeter's most similar player at 29 is Alan Trammell. If you asked fans, many would tell you Jeter is a HOF caliber player.

 

Can you go into this a bit more? What do you mean by similar? Play style, stats?

 

His OPS+ was 125, meaning he hit 25% better than the league average over his career.

 

What does OPS+ stand for and how is it calculated?

[the max 0]

I may be wrong, but OPS is On-Base Percentage and Slugging Percentage added together....OPS = Overall Percentage Statistic? Something like that.

[The Man in Blak 0]

Yeah, OPS is OBP + SLG...as in OBP Plus SLG, I believe.

 

OPS is a weighted calculation that takes the player's OPS and compares it against the league average, centering the average at 100. Therefore, if somebody batted a 125 OPS+ like Grich, he had an OPS that was 25% better the league (which is pretty significant).

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Can you go into this a bit more? What do you mean by similar? Play style, stats?

 

Strictly statistics. Similarity scores take two players, starts at 1,000 points, and subtracts points for differences in statistics. The database at baseball-reference.com is able to calculate the similarities of all players, and gives a list of the most similar players, using this method.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/about/similarity.shtml

 

What does OPS+ stand for and how is it calculated?

 

On Base Percentage plus slugging percentage, adjusted for park factors and compared to the league average. 100 Is league average, 110 is 10% better than the league average, and so on.