MLB: COMMITTEE ELECTS MORRIS, TRAMMELL 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 on Sunday 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.
Fittingly, they’ll go in jointly on July 29. They began their big league careers in 1977 with Detroit and played 13 seasons together with the Tigers.
“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,” the 62-year-old Morris said during a conference call.
Trammell felt overwhelmed.
“I came to the realization it might not happen, and I was OK with that,” he said.
Former catcher Ted Simmons fell one vote shy, and former players’ union head Marvin Miller was five short of the 12 needed.
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 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.
Now 59, Trammell was a steady presence in the middle of the diamond while playing all 20 of his seasons in Detroit. He was the 1984 World Series MVP, hitting .450 as the Tigers trounced San Diego in five games.
A six-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glover, Trammell scored 1,231 runs and drove in 1,003. He hit .285 with 185 homers and a .352 on-base percentage.