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Detroit Tigers greats Trammell and Morris inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame

Former Detroit Tiger Alan Trammell swinging the bat during a game in 1991.
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Alan Trammell, shown here in 1991, played shortstop for the Tigers from 20 seasons. He and fellow 2018 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Jack Morris both played on Detroit's 1984 World Series championship team.

The Baseball Hall of Fame welcomed two former Detroit Tigers to its ranks Sunday at the annual induction ceremony in Cooperstown, New York.

Shortstop Alan Trammell and pitcher Jack Morris both came up with the Tigers in 1977 and played on the 1984 Detroit team that won the World Series.

Trammell played his entire career with Detroit and retired in 1996.

After 14 years with the Tigers, Morris would pitch for three other teams, finishing his career with a total of four World Series rings. But in his speech Sunday, he said his time with the Tigers was special.

"In 1976, after three years in college, I was drafted by the Detroit Tigers. I had no idea how I would come to appreciate and love the hard-working people of Michigan and Detroit," Morris said. "I will always cherish the friendships I made there. My teammates, coaches, managers in my Detroit years taught me what winning was all about."

In his speech, Trammell paid tribute to another Tigers great, who came before him.

"To Mr. Tiger, Al Kaline: thank you for being the Tiger that you are, doing everything with class and dignity," he said. "I’m proud to have worn the Old English D my entire playing career like you did."

Trammell and second baseman Lou Whitaker were a double-play combination for 19 seasons, the longest pairing in baseball history.

"We both played our first big-league ballgame at Fenway Park [in Boston] on the same day. We both got hits at our first major league at-bats off the same pitcher, Reggie Cleveland. And both got our last hits of our careers off the same pitcher, Mike Fetters," Trammell said. "That’s truly amazing. For all those years, it was Lou and Tram."

Whitaker was in the audience at Cooperstown. Trammell addressed him directly and said he wants his former teammate to also get the hall's call.

"Lou, it was an honor and pleasure to have played alongside you all those years. And my hope is some day you’ll be up here as well," he said.

The other members of the 2018 Hall of Fame class are Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero and Trevor Hoffman.

Doug Tribou joined the Michigan Public staff as the host of Morning Edition in 2016. Doug first moved to Michigan in 2015 when he was awarded a Knight-Wallace journalism fellowship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
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