Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker were fixtures for the Detroit Tigers for a generation of fans. And while “Tram” and fellow Tigers legend Jack Morris were inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame last year, “Sweet Lou” is still awaiting his chance.
That could ultimately be decided today.
“I’ve got my fingers crossed,” Trammell said. “I’m hoping.”
The Committee will be deciding the new list of Hall of Famers today, and Whitaker is among the candidates to finally forever be enshrined.
“I’m thinking a lot more about Lou than I did for me,” Trammell said. “He’s starting to get some love and people, for whatever reason, years ago, he got overlooked. It can be a moot point and hopefully, we’re going to be talking and smiling and writing the same kind of stuff that Jack (Morris) and I got a couple years ago and he gets to be inducted.”
Trammell remained hopeful that his former teammate will soon take his rightful spot beside him in Cooperstown.
“Where has this love been all these years? I’m smiling and I’m thankful now that he’s being brought back into the picture. And so, we’ll see. I’m hoping it’s this year, but if not, just the fact that he’s getting talked about is huge, no doubt.”
“He was very confident in himself as a player, as you have to be. You can’t go around thinking, ‘I don’t think I could play.’ He knew he could play, but he didn’t go out there saying it outwardly. That just wasn’t his style,” he continued. “He was taught — just like I was and Gibby and Lance (Parrish) and Jack and Dan Petry and all the rest of the guys that came up with our core, he was taught exactly the same and he was with me every step of the way.”
For Whitaker, his time as Trammell’s teammate was special for him.
“Tram and I met in 1976 in instructional baseball in Florida,” Whitaker told MLB Network Radio. “We played our Double-A season together, my first year as a second baseman. Tram and I worked hard those years. Tram and I put in a lot of time together. And then every year playing in the Major Leagues, we spent time working together, shortstop and second baseman, just to be able to be the best that we could be, to be able to make the plays when we needed to make the play.”
