Alan Trammell and Jack Morris

Sure, Alan Trammell and Jack Morris have been denied by the Hall of Fame for several years. Both of them probably deserve serious consideration for the HOF. I suppose even Lou Whitaker deserves a thought or two.

Trammell, an incredible short shop and pretty good hitter, played whatever role Sparky Anderson had for him. A professional through and through, Tram played in a time when Cal Ripken set a new standard for short stops. And, when Tram became eligible, the country was focused on the Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra new–age short stop statistic probe.

Morris, the winningest pitcher of the 1980s, never received the credit he deserved. Sure, he was jerk and made few friends in the media, but that is no reason to keep his just rewards away from him. I remember hearing stories about how he and Lance Parrish would brawl once in a while.

One thing about Morris that I always found interesting was how he pitched "to the game." If the Tigers had a sizable lead, Morris relaxed. The dude pitched complete games and was a great competitor.

It's a toss up, but I sure would like to see some 1980s Tigers in the Hall of Fame. If my memory serves correctly, the Tigers were the winningest team of the '80s, even with their terrible 1989.