Detroit Tigers: Four Biggest Hall of Fame Snubs
Lou Whitaker (Hall Score: 144)
You can’t mention Alan Trammell without bringing up Lou Whitaker. The other half of the longest double play combination in MLB history, Whitaker has perhaps an even stronger case than Trammell does. Yet, in an embarrassing display of ignorance and incompetence that only the BBWAA could pull off, Whitaker dropped off the ballot after his first year of eligibility.
To make matters even worse, I can’t even think of a viable argument against the man’s induction. Accumulated stats perhaps? Well, Joe Morgan only had 108 more hits and 22 more home runs than Lou, yet he’s considered one of the best second basemen of all time. With three Gold Gloves, four Silver Sluggers, and a World Series ring, it certainly isn’t a lack of hardware keeping Lou out of the Hall.
How about his averages and advanced statistics? What do those look like? Well, Whitaker possesses a .274 career batting average, higher than hall of fame second basemen Joe Morgan, Joe Gordon, and Bill Mazeroski. Whitaker’s 74.9 WAR ranks seventh all-time amongst second basemen. There are 20 Hall of Fame second basemen, 14 of them were worth less wins over their careers than Whitaker.
By every measure that Lou Whitaker deserves to be in the Hall, and it is complete lunacy that he isn’t.