Morris, Trammell make it to Hall
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Fittingly, Jack Morris reached the Hall of Fame in extra innings.
Morris was elected to the Hall by its Modern Era committee yesterday along with former Detroit Tigers teammate Alan Trammell, completing a joint journey from Motown to Cooperstown.
The big-game pitcher and star shortstop were picked by 16 voters who considered 10 candidates whose biggest contributions came from 1970-87. Morris got 14 votes and Trammell drew 13, one more than the minimum needed.
They will be enshrined on July 29, and fitting they’ll go in together. They both began their big league careers in 1977 with Detroit and played 13 seasons alongside each other with the Tigers.
Former catcher Ted Simmons fell one vote shy, and former players’ union head Marvin Miller was five short of the 12 needed. Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker and Luis Tiant also were on the ballot.
The Baseball Writers Association of America’s annual vote on players will be announced Jan. 24. Chipper Jones, Jim Thome and Omar Vizquel are among 19 first-time candidates, and Trevor Hoffman, Vladimir Guerrero, Edgar Martinez, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are among the holdovers.
“The time that I’ve spent wondering if this day would ever come seems to be vanished and erased right now because it did come, and it’s amazing,” Morris said during a conference call. Trammell felt overwhelmed. “I came to realization that it might not happen, and I was OK with that. I really was,” he said. “If people thought it was a tad short, I could live with that.”
Morris had 254 wins and seven more in the postseason, including his 10-inning shutout in a 1-0 win for Minnesota over Atlanta in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.
“No question it was my defining moment in baseball,” Morris said. “I never thought I was in trouble and I knew I could get out of it if I was. So I had the best mindset I’ve ever had in my entire on that night.”
Morris also pitched for World Series winners in Detroit, with Trammell, in 1984, and Toronto in 1992. His 3.90 career ERA tops Red Ruffing’s 3.80 as the highest of any pitcher in the Hall.
Morris’ 175 complete games included 20 in 1983.
Trammell was a steady presence in the middle of the diamond while playing all 20 of his seasons in Detroit, 19 of them next to double-play partner Lou Whitaker. He was the 1984 World Series MVP.
Trammell never came close to election during his 15 tries in Hall voting by the BBWAA, peaking at 40.9 percent in 2016. Morris reached at high of 67.7 percent in 2003.