Trammell WAS better... - Reader comments at The New York Sun

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Reader comment on:
Raines, Trammell Deserve Better Hall Balloting
in response to reader comment: Huh?

Submitted by Larry Israelson, Jan 4, 2008 16:18

...as an all-around ballplayer. Rice was a productive hitter in his prime, but consider these:

1) Fenway Park apparently inflated his stats, as his slugging percentage in road games was roughly 90 points lower than it was in home games. The home/road variance for Trammell was only 15 slugging points.

2) Rice was an average fielder at probably the second-easiest position, while Trammell was usually excellent while playing a critically-important position.

3) After his rookie year, Rice never stole more than nine bases in a season, while Trammell accomplished this 13 times.

4) Rice was a perhaps-unprecedented double-play machine, grounding into about 20 per year compared to fewer than half that for Trammell.

There are several holes in Trammell's case as well. He wasn't particularly durable, appearing in more than 151 games only once in 20 seasons. He never once led the American League in any key offensive category, and his best sustained run of above-average hitting lasted just three seasons (1986-88).

I have my doubts about Trammell as a Hall of Fame candidate, but I believe he was a more valuable player than Rice overall, so probably neither deserves enshrinement.

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
Jim Rice played his entire career for Boston. In 1,048 home games, he had a batting line of .320/.374/.546 with... [MORE]	Mike	Aug 9, 2008 09:58
Rice - 6 seasons 180 hits or more Trammell - 1 season 180 hits or more Don't know how it's... [MORE]	James Hannigan	Jan 6, 2008 09:17
In my humble opinion as a fan of baseball for far too many years, that the Hall of Fame suffers... [MORE]	John M	Jan 5, 2008 22:56
As much as I don't understand the witch hunt against Rice that some people have been on over the last... [MORE]	MRS	Jan 4, 2008 19:43
"and during his long prime he had many years in which he hit as well as David Wright usually does."... [MORE]	David	Jan 4, 2008 14:56
"the most dominating hitter in the AL." He might have been the most dominating hitter in the AL, but there... [MORE]	Bobber	Jan 4, 2008 14:47
The last paragraph explains it all: "voters care more about...renown than achievement..." Isn't "renown" the same as "fame"? It's the... [MORE]	fdr	Jan 4, 2008 14:22
Allan Trammell a better hitter than Jim Rice??? You've got to be kidding!!! Trammell hit over 20 homers only twice... [MORE]	Jay Scott	Jan 4, 2008 12:35
...as an all-around ballplayer. Rice was a productive hitter in his prime, but consider these: 1) Fenway Park apparently inflated his...	Larry Israelson	Jan 4, 2008 16:18
You have got to be kidding me. I am not going to knock alan t. but I no way can... [MORE]	C Morgan	Jan 4, 2008 12:00

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Reader comment on:
Raines, Trammell Deserve Better Hall Balloting
in response to reader comment: Huh?