While it was a great day for Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken, Alan Trammell and Jack Morris actually lost ground on their quest for enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.
In Trammell’s case it was his lowest vote percentage since he was added to the ballot in 2002. Trammell’s vote total has hovered in a pretty narrow range over the last 6 elections: 15.7, 14.1, 13.8, 16.9, 17.7, 13.4. With him not gaining ground his chances of enshrinement will most likely rest with the Veteran’s Committee.
As for Jack Morris, he’d actually been gaining momentum. Over his 6 years on the ballot he had doubled his support, but backtracked this year. His vote totals since 2001 are: 19.61, 20.5, 22.8, 26.3, 33.3, 41.2, 37.1.
Of course both fared better than Lou Whitaker who failed to gain the requisite 5% in his only year on the ballot. On a related note, The Hardball Times has an article by Dan McLaughlin (aka The Baseball Crank) looking in detail at the Hall of Fame case for various middle infielders. Of course the Tigers double play combo is part of the discussion.
Morris always has seemed a bit “iffy” to me, his postseason exploits notwithstanding. The continued exclusion of Trammell bothers me. If Ozzie Smith deserves enshrinement, then surely so does Trammell.
I feel the same way Geoff. I can’t really mount a case for Morris as long as Blyleven is on the outside loooking in.
As for Trammell, I’m not sure if he’s a surefire Hall of Famer, but the disparity in Smith and Trammell’s hall support far outweights the disparity in their careers.
Now Whitaker is the one who really got shafted…
As the years go by, I think Morris’ chances of getting in through the Veterans Committee will be much better than Trammell’s. Tram’s numbers will pale in comparison to A-Rod, Nomar, Jeter, and Tejada. Meanwhile, Morris’ ERA won’t look quite as inflated compared to the top starting pitchers of recent years.
With regard to Trammell and Ozzie, I think you have to chalk it up to Ozzie being (1) more flamboyant and (2) an innovator/star at one particular aspect of the game. This is where the “fame” in Hall of Fame comes into play.