Snub doesn’t change fact: Whitaker is Hall-worthy
Former Tiger will make it to Cooperstown eventually
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – One day, Lou Whitaker will get his due.
One day, Jim Leyland will see the great player he managed in the minor leagues join the rest of the greatest players in baseball history. One day, Alan Trammell will have his double-play partner in the Baseball Hall of Fame with him.
“It will happen,” Trammell said Monday afternoon. “It’s just a matter of when.”
It did not happen on Sunday evening, when Whitaker failed to receive election by the Hall of Fame’s Modern Baseball Era committee — a collection of 16 former players, executives and baseball historians. But one day, it will happen.
“I do think he’s a Hall of Famer, I do,” Leyland said. “I do think he’ll get in eventually, I
do.”
Leyland saw Whitaker’s promise before many, while managing Class A Lakeland in 1976. That season, Whitaker hit .297 with 48 stolen bases to win the Florida State League Most Valuable Player Award — at third base.
Late in the season, Leyland received a phone call from then-Tigers general manager Jim Campbell, who told him to move Whitaker to second base. But, with Whitaker in his first full professional season and just 19 years old, Leyland implored Campbell to hold off. The main reason: He was worried Whitaker, unfamiliar to the position, could get injured turning double plays at second base.
After the season, the Tigers began the transition. A year later, he and Trammell were turning double plays in the major leagues. The next year, Whitaker was named the American League Rookie of the Year.
Soon, he developed into an All-Star second baseman. In 19 seasons, Whitaker hit .276 with 244 home runs and 143 stolen bases. He was a five-time AL All-Star, four-time AL Silver Slugger and three-time AL Gold Glove Award winner.
In modern-day metrics, Whitaker amassed 75.1 WAR, according to Baseball-Reference.com: Of the players in major league history who have reached that mark, all but nine — some ineligible; some impacted by performance-enhancing drugs — have been enshrined in Cooperstown.
That Whitaker was not elected could be considered a surprise, especially locally, where baseball fans are aware of his ability. But in looking at recent history, the snub isn’t as surprising.
Consider: Whitaker received just 2.9% of the vote in his first and only season on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot in 2001, removing him from future consideration. To jump from not receiving the requisite 5% of the ballot to a first-chance admission by the Modern Baseball Era committee would be stark.
Elected to Cooperstown on Sunday were former MLB Players’ Association director Marvin Miller, who ushered the era of free agency into the game, and longtime catcher and former Southfield High star Ted Simmons.
Simmons fell one vote shy in the last Modern Baseball Era committee ballot.
There are many theories as to why Whitaker has not received the respect he deserves: his quiet personality, unassuming greatness and unspectacular consistency; if he would have played in a bigger market, perhaps would be revered as one of the all-time greats.
But the Modern Baseball Era committee — like any other election — is a political game. In looking at the voters — many of whom went toe-to-toe against Whitaker during their careers — his candidacy seemed to be in good hands.
Perhaps most surprising was that he only received six of the 16 votes, well short of the requisite 12 needed for enshrinement.
Given comparable players who have been inducted in recent years, Whitaker’s vote total should have been more. He should not have received induction before Miller, one of the most influential people in baseball history — but a jump from 2.9% on the BBWAA ballot to induction in his next try proved too big a hurdle.
With his latest snub, Whitaker will get more publicity his way. Maybe he will never jump on Twitter and thank the fans like fellow candidate Dale Murphy did, further helping his cause, but his body of work over 19 seasons will eventually break that door down.
It took more than 15 years for Trammell and Morris. It will take at least three more for Whitaker, but his time will come – one day.
Contact Anthony Fenech at afenech@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @anthonyfenech. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.