ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, September 30, 1996 TAG: 9610010012
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DETROIT
SOURCE: Associated Press
AFTER 20 YEARS in the big leagues, Alan Trammell calls it a career.
Alan Trammell's major league career ended the same way it began, with a base hit up the middle.
Trammell, 38, announced after Detroit's 7-5 loss Sunday that he is retiring after 20 seasons, all with the Tigers. The six-time All-Star and MVP of the 1984 World Series was no longer the team's regular shortstop. He said the task of role-playing finally wore him down.
``The time has come for me to move on,'' Trammell said into a microphone set up near second base, where he and Lou Whitaker turned so many double plays during their 19 years together. Whitaker retired at the end of the 1995 season.
``Today was my last day,'' Trammell continued. ``As much as it hurts to say it, it's somewhat of a relief. Every one of us here had a dream, and I feel very fortunate to have been able to do it longer than most. And I'm very proud that I have been able to do it all with one ballclub.''
A .285 lifetime hitter, Trammell played in 2,293 games for the Tigers, a team that made him their second-round draft pick in 1976.
``It started with a line drive up the middle off Reggie Cleveland [in Boston's Fenway Park],'' Trammell said. ``And I ended up with a single up the middle today. That is something that will always be special to me.''
Trammell, who had surgery on his left ankle July31, was activated off the disabled list Sept.1. As a result of the injury, he appeared in only 66 games of what turned out to be the worst season in the Tigers' history. Sunday's 10-inning loss completed a 53-109 season. The club's old low-water mark of 104 losses had stood since 1952.
``It wasn't just the losing this season, although that was certainly part of it,'' Trammell said. ``The role-playing finally just wore me down. I couldn't find the niche. I wish I was stronger. I wish I could have given this team more of a lift.''
Most of the crowd, announced as 13,038, stayed for Trammell's announcement. Players from both the Tigers and the Milwaukee Brewers gathered behind him, applauding his remarks.
``I think Alan Trammell is a great person, a most consistent player, and he carried himself as a professional both on and off the field,'' Brewers coach Jim Gantner said. ``He was a leader on his team. He played the same, win or lose, and that's what made him a great pro.''
Brewers manager Phil Garner echoed Gantner's sentiments.
``I wish I could run films to our young players of guys like Trammell,'' Garner said. ``It would show them how this game is supposed to be played, how you have to run everything out and give 100 percent in good times as well as bad.''
Trammell became the 169th major leaguer to drive in 1,000 runs when he knocked in Tony Clark on June25 in Oakland. He ranks among the top 10 in Tigers' career performers in nine primary offensive categories, including hits (2,365), runs (1,229) and games.
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Detroit's Alan Trammell acknowledges the crowdby CNBbefore hitting a single in his final at-bat Sunday. color. KEYWORDS: BASEBALL