Detroit’s Trammell, Morris to join skipper Anderson in baseball shrine

Pair voted in by Modern Era panel

ORLANDO — The wait is over for Alan Trammell and Jack Morris.

It took them much longer than anticipated, but the two members of the 1984 champion Detroit Tigers have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The former Tigers teammates were elected by the Hall of Fame Modern Era Committee, which voted them in Sunday night at the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings.

They will become the 21st and 22nd players in Tigers history to be inducted into the Hall of Fame next summer and the first from the 1984 championship team, which is only represented in Cooperstown by manager Sparky Anderson.

Morris was selected on 14 of 16 ballots and Trammell was selected on 13 of 16 ballots.

Trammell was a model of consistency throughout his 20-year career — all with the Tigers — and served as the consummate professional at shortstop, both offensively and defensively.

Trammell, 59, hit .285 with 185 home runs and 236 stolen bases. He was a six-time AllStar with four AL Gold Glove Awards, three AL Silver Slugger Awards and was named the World Series Most Valuable Player in 1984.

Trammell was worth 70.4 Wins Above Replacement during his career, according to Baseball-Reference.com, and ranks 93rd all-time in that category, ahead of many current Hall of Famers. Though he never received more than 40.9 percent of the vote in his 15 years on the BBWAA ballot — well short of the 75 percent required for election — Trammell’s numbers compare favorably to shortstops inducted in the past, like Ozzie Guillen and Barry Larkin.

Trammell is currently a special assistant to Tigers GM Al Avila.

Morris, 62, came closer to the Hall of Fame in his stay on the BBWAA ballot, with a highwater mark of 61.5 percent, but still had to wait for the special election.

In 18 seasons, the right-hander went 254-186 with a 3.90 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 2,478 strikeouts. He is a three-time World Series champion, once each with the Tigers, Twins and Blue Jays.

Morris was worth 43.8 Wins Above Replacement during his career, according to BaseballReference.com. That metric, along with his high career ERA — a statistic which is often overlooked in today’s age of sabermetric advancements — are thought to be the reason he was not inducted by the BBWAA.

With his election, Morris has the highest ERA — 3.90 — of a starting pitcher in the Hall of Fame.