Motown’s glowing double-play combo didn’t get great coast-to-coast exposure.More precisely, there was no Internet. His play at second base wasn’t flashy—it was remarkably steady and efficient. Hall of Fame votes for decades tended to be rare check-marks tied to the simple fact few Cooperstown-worthy players appeared each December. He won four Silver Slugger Awards and three Gold Glove Awards. No, Whitaker wasn’t conceited, he simply couldn’t help doing everything with smooth, fluid action.
(1980), 1984 American League Championship Series (1984) and 1987 American League Championship Series (1987). He obtained an adjustable mesh hat and a blank jersey. While in Ashford, Lou can be seen mingling with climbers at Rainier BaseCamp or Whittaker's Bunkhouse. ... Whitaker… “It’s tough to imagine them electing three people Sunday, but I’m vaguely optimistic that there will be at least one person, possibly two.“I think with Morris and Trammell going in, that opened some eyes. Chet Lemon and Lou Whitaker Getty Images Detroit Tigers fan favorites Chet Lemon and Lou Whitaker never stood for the national anthem at games in the 1980s because of … At least not an Internet that soon would become part of America’s bloodstream. top 10.”Whitaker finished his career with 2,369 hits, 244 home runs, a .276 batting average, .363 on-base percentage, and .426 slugging percentage, which is a .789 OPS – right there at Hall of Fame altitude. 'Sweet Lou' Whitaker is best known as part of one of the most successful double play combinations in baseball's history. 19- Lou Whitaker . He finished off his outfit by scrawling his number on the back in magic marker (or, by some accounts, having a fan do so for him). And in a blur as fast as a rattlesnake’s strike, he drills the ball on a line into right field, or as often happened, on a rising arc that crashes into Tiger Stadium’s right-field upper deck.A half-inning later, he sucks in a ground ball at second base, and in another portrait of fire and efficiency, whips a bulls-eye to first base.Sunday could deliver a fresh scene celebrating "Sweet Lou" Whitaker’s baseball elegance: An announcement that Whitaker has, like his 20-year Tigers mate at shortstop, Alan Trammell, joined the shrine of those forever hallowed at the Baseball Hall of Fame.It is quite possible Whitaker’s moment has finally arrived.“Reading the tea leaves, it could be good news for Whitaker,” said Jay Jaffe, author of “The Cooperstown Casebook,” a remarkable text released in 2017 that is considered to be the most detailed analysis of players and their Hall of Fame credentials.Whitaker, 62, needs at least 12 of 16 votes by a group of former players, front office types and writers called the Modern Era Committee. Glide to the ground ball, pivot, fire to first. Along with teammate Alan Trammell, Whitaker is perhaps best known as half of the longest running […] He and nine others will be considered in the conclave that three years ago awarded Whitaker teammates Trammell and Jack Morris plaques in Cooperstown, N.Y.By one esteemed modern measure called Wins Above Replacement (WAR), Whitaker was the seventh-best second baseman in baseball history, behind only Rogers Hornsby, Joe Morgan, Nap Lajoie, Eddie Collins, Rod Carew, and ex-Tigers icon Charlie Gehringer -- all of whom are in the Hall.His WAR number also beats a good many other second basemen already enshrined: Roberto Alomar, Craig Biggio, Ryne Sandberg and Bill Mazeroski to name a few.And he has the highest number of any player who will be considered Sunday, a whopping 75.1, significantly higher than was even Trammell’s 70.7. Simmons, statistically, can be considered the 10th-best catcher in baseball history and missed by only one vote of joining Trammell and Morris in Cooperstown following the 2018 Modern Era voting. With the Detroit Tigers, and alongside Alan Trammel, Whitaker excelled as a second baseman. He played 15 years for the Brewers, making the All-Star team 5 times and receiving MVP votes in … Today, Lou and his wife, Ingrid, spend the winters in Sun Valley, Idaho, and the summers in Ashford. Lou Whitaker continues to be a notable snub from the Baseball Hall of Fame, as he received only six of 12 necessary votes on the Modern Era ballot. Lou Whitaker needs at least 12 votes to win enshrinement. The Smithsonian requested the jersey and it remains a part of their collection.During the 1986 All-Star Game, Whitaker was one of the five players struck out consecutively by National League pitcher Whitaker ranks among the Tigers' all-time leaders in many categories, including the following:
One, two, maybe three, and rarely more than three names, would be a typical Cooperstown quota.But in 2000 there was a surge: Dave Winfield and Kirby Puckett were newcomers joining some golden-oldie return candidates: Gary Carter, Jim Rice, Bruce Sutter and Goose Gossage.The bar had always been so high, and the cast of Hall-worthy names so typically few, that voters weren’t attuned to think broadly.Whitaker wasn’t subject to great debate. "Again, timing probably hurt Whitaker as well as Trammell.Cable TV had not been an American staple during the first half of the Trammell-Whitaker years.