Detroit Tigers: Fingers Crossed for ‘Sweet Lou’ Whitaker

Will Detroit Tigers legendary second baseman Lou Whitaker finally receive the call he’s waited on for years?  Whitaker will be notified tomorrow if he will finally be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Not only is the Baseball Hall of Fame voting system a joke more times than not, but they’ve really done former Detroit Tigers’ great Lou Whitaker wrong for all these years.  How can Lou Whitaker NOT already be in the HOF?  It’s a flawed voting system.  There are folks currently with a hall of fame vote who don’t follow or cover professional baseball anymore.

These writers are just submitting their ballot with players selected who they’ve heard of, or perhaps in some cases just take a quick look at their stats.  If you haven’t followed the game for years, or better yet currently you shouldn’t have a vote.  Simple.

Lou Whitaker is one of the best second basemen of all-time.  Period.  His career numbers are sensational, much better than people not in the Detroit area probably realize.  Lou’s analytics are phenomenal.

More from Detroit Jock City

• Tigers Sign Manager A.J. Hinch to Long-Term Extension
• Lions vs. Bears Week 14 Opening Odds Disrespect Detroit
• Former Tigers Celebrate Jim Leyland Hall of Fame Call
• This Pistons Team Could be the Worst in Detroit Sports History
• 4 Free Agents Tigers Should Sign During Winter Meetings

When you look at Lou’s Wins Above Replacement (WAR), he ranks as the seventh-best second-baseman of ALL-TIME! For the record, each of the six players listed ahead of him are all currently in the HOF.   This may take some of you back; his WAR ranks higher than both Ryne Sandberg and Robby Alamar.

I have to rant a little bit here.  It took Alan Trammell and Jack Morris way to long before they received their call, the same goes for Whitaker. The long-time Tigers double-play duo are widely regarded as the best DP combination in the history of the league.  I’ll never understand how these two players never received the national recognition they deserved.  If you ask anyone in Detroit who the glue over those glory years in the ’80s was they’ll say, Whitaker & Trammell.

Trammell and Whitaker played together with the Montgomery Rebels in the double-A Southern League.  They both got called up to the Detroit Tigers in September of ’77, making their first MLB start on the same day. They’d become the starting double-play duo for the Tigers in 1978 until 1995.  They’d become the longest double-play combination in the history of the game, a record that perhaps will never be broken.

In ’78 Whitaker played his way to becoming the American League rookie of the year after hitting .285 with 3 home runs, 58 RBI’s, and 7 stolen bases.

Lou struggled with the bat for a couple of seasons after that as he was growing into a professional big leaguer.  The bat finally came around in 1982 when he hit 15 home runs and drove in 65 runs.  Although he failed to make the all-star game in ’82, he proved he was more than just a gold glove talent in the field; the man could hit.

It was 1983 when his career climbed to new heights.  It was the start of five consecutive all-star appearances along with 3 gold gloves during that span, along with all 5 of his silver slugger awards.  Oh, don’t forget a World Series championship.

During that stretch in the mid-’80s, Whitaker was arguably the best second baseman in the game.  So how is he not already in the baseball hall of fame?

I’m confident tomorrow, his day will finally come.

My other concern is how come he’s not represented already inside Comerica Park?  I mean, the perfect opportunity came two summers ago when the Tigers rightfully so painted Trammell’s name and number on the centerfield bricks.

Chris Ilitch dropped the ball on that one, with the best double play duo in the history of the game who had been roommates throughout their career, best friends, both made their MLB debut’s on the same day.

They both had their first career hit in the same game should have both had their jersey numbers retired on the same day by the Tigers.  What a mistake.  That celebration would have been epic.  Also, don’t get me wrong they both should have been inducted into the baseball HOF on the same day too — a big swing and miss by both the baseball, writers and Tigers.

Tomorrow a group of 16 people will decide if Lou Whitaker will be inducted into the baseball HOF.  It’s likely his final chance to enter Cooperstown.  It’s a committee that’s titled ‘the modern era committee,’ which inducts players who were previously overlooked.  The group will look at ten former players and vote.  A player needs 12 of 16 votes to enter.

Fingers-crossed for the Detroit Tigers legend.  Over 19 years with the Tigers, Whitaker compiled 2369 career hits, 244 home runs, 1084 RBI’s while owning a career .276 batting average.