Hey baseball fans!
I know all of you have heard about the great shortstops in baseball history such as Ozzie Smith and Ernie Banks, but how about a certain shortstop who played his entire career with the Tigers and who was an excellent fielder and hitter, but isn't well known among the best? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Alan Trammell.
Trammell played his entire career with the Detroit Tigers from 1977-1996. He made it to six All-Star Games and also won seven gold gloves. A contact hitting shortstop, Alan hit for a career batting average of .285 and had an average of 80 runs in a season. He won a championship with Detroit in 1984 as they beat the Padres four games to one, and was named MVP of the Series, hitting .450, with two homers and six RBIs.
The sad part about his career though, is that he has not been elected into the Hall of Fame yet. However, if the trend of votes for his election doesn't change, and it keeps increasing at its current pace, he will be in the Hall by 2017! The reason I'm so excited about him getting elected is because we share a birthday. Honestly, wouldn't it be awesome to have a Hall of Famer share a birthday with you?
Send me a comment and tell me your baseball birthday buddy. Thanks for reading!
In September 1996, I was in Detroit on a business trip that included a stay over the weekend. I was alone with nothing to do on that Sunday, so I decided that I would take in a Tiger's game. It was the final game of the season. The new Comerica Park was under construction and would open in a couple of years, so I went because I knew it was my last chance to visit grand old, elegant Tiger Stadium. As it happened, Trammell surprisingly, unexpectedly announced his retirement on that Sunday morning. Apparently, he planned it that way but didn't tell anyone. He was such an unassuming gentleman, he just didn't want a big deal made out of it. It was so sudden and last-minute that only a couple thousand additional tickets were sold, despite the fact that he was probably the most beloved athlete in the city at the time. The Tiger's conducted a hastily-arranged pre-game ceremony in his honor, everyone cheered wildly, they played the game, Alan got two hits, the Tigers lost, I soaked in the stadium, and I took away a cool memory.