On Tuesday, Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Justin Verlander will represent the Detroit Tigers in the Major League All-star game in Kansas City, Mo.

All are multiple time all-stars and well deserving. Fielder was voted to start by the fans, while Cabrera and Verlander were added by the players and coaching staffs. Verlander could possibly start the game for the first time.

Of all the all-star games among the four major sports this is the best game. The MLB all-star game actually resembles a regular game with players giving their all to win the game.

Typically,  the NBA, NHL and NFL all-star games feature very little defense. Basically, it’s just an offensive display of talent. The NFL nearly canceled it’s all-star game because a of a lack of competition. All three games are very boring to watch.

Personally, I love watching the MLB all-star game with the top pitchers facing the top hitters inning after inning between the two leagues. Interleague play allows us to see some of these rare match ups, but not for an entire game.

The only thing I don’t like about the all-star game is the fact it decides home field advantage for the winning league in the World Series.

Since a 7-7 tie in 2002, the MLB all-star game has decided which league will host the World Series, not the overall best record like most leagues.

Commissioner Bud Selig change the meaning of the game as a way to stop ties from happening. What he needed to do was reiterate that not ever player selected for the game will play. The 2002 game ended after 11 innings because teams were out of players on the bench.

I don’t think adding home field advantage to the winner of this game has increased the level of play. This game has always been about the competition. There isn’t a half speed when fastball’s are reaching triple digits and line drives come back just as quick.

I’ll always remember John Kruk taking a fastball behind his back from Randy Johnson. The left-handed hitter switched mid at-bat to the right side and turned his helmet around.

Some of you remember Pete Rose barreling into Ray Fosse and separating his shoulder in 1970.

When you have fans selecting starting lineups (and they should), all-star game managers filling out the roster (usually with his own players) and a final 34th roster spot being voted on once again, home field advantage shouldn’t rely on who is playing.

Fans obviously don’t always select the best at each position, but their favorite player. That is corrected to an extent with the players and managers voting for reserves and pitchers.

Also, every team has to have at least one player selected. Even if not deserving.

Basically, 95 percent of the players in the game won’t even be on the team in the World Series. That doesn’t make a lot of sense.

The MLB all-star game should just be a regular game with the best battling the best. Home field advantage should be decided by the marathon 162 game regular season.

Regardless, the game is a personal favorite and come Tuesday night I will be tuned in.

I’ve been a supporter of Brandon Inge for a long time. But the time has come to say goodbye.

Inge has not been able to contribute to the Detroit Tigers for some time. Defensively he has been adequate, not his typical great, and offensively a Little League coach would struggle to put him at the bottom of a 14-man lineup.

In his last two seasons — plus his whopping 20 at-bats this year — Inge is barely above the Mendoza line with a .226 average. Mario Mendoza (1974-1982) was a career .215 hitter with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers. His ineptness at the plate led to the Mendoza line analogy for being below the .200 mark.

Inge is 182-for-803 since the start of the 2010 season. That includes a .197 average a year ago. He finished out his career as a Tiger hitting .100 with two hits, although, one was a game winning home run against Kansas City.

The argument to keep Inge has always been his defensive ability. His ability to make a spectacular diving play or range deep into a hole made us forget that he is actually a career .234 hitter. His minor league numbers (.250) are not much better.

It was one thing for Inge to hit .253 or .230 and hit 27 home runs as he did in the 2006 and 2009 seasons. But for five seasons from 2004-2008 his average dropped every year from .287 to .205. Along with the average, his home run ability has disappeared despite his supposed strength increase this year.

No longer could his play on the field makeup for weak grounders, popups and strikeouts.

Inge has always been a fan favorite. That has not been the case recently. He was booed every time he stepped to the plate and has been the focus of radio talk shows and columnists across the state. Inge was booed on opening day. Who gets booed on opening day?

I felt bad for the guy. With each flailing at-bat, Inge’s contributions to the Tigers the past 10-plus years was locked away further in our minds.

We forgot about the kid called up from the minor leagues, probably too soon, that endured one of the worst stretches in Tigers history including the 119 loss season of 2003.

We forgot about his constant movement — willingly or unwillingly — from position to position as the Tigers rebuilt on the field. We forgot the daily effort on the field or in practice no matter how futile the results ended up being.

Inge has meant a lot to the city of Detroit, the Tigers and their fans. It was time for the Tigers’ management to move on without Brandon Inge.

Maybe a fresh start will help him out. Maybe it is just time to step away from the game.

Once with a lineup consisting of Eric Munson, Shane Halter and Warren Morris (who?), Inge was a star in the making. With a lineup of Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, Inge looked like a washed up player hanging on too long.

Despite the wrath from fans and media, following Thursday’s loss, Inge said, “My heart will always be 100 percent in Detroit.”

Inge has always been a class act. Now that he is gone, I think fans will ultimately give him his proper due. Maybe not right away, but eventually they will.

Needless to say I’m a little excited for the Detroit Tigers season to begin.

If my choice of apparel the past month, my Facebook posts or my constant rambling of baseball talk at the office isn’t a good indicator, you’ve probably just been ignoring me.

I’m excited for this day whether the Tigers are predicted to win 100 games or lose 100 games. I’m just a baseball fan. Always have been, always will be.

By the time you read this I will be basking in the sunshine at Comerica Park, among other things, hoping for an Opening Day win against the Boston Red Sox.

Detroit will be electric today with the start of the season. It’s a season with so many expectations, and for this year, reasonable expectations.

Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Justin Verlander give new meaning to the term “Big Three” in Detroit. Cabrera is rated third and Verlander is fourth in ESPN’s top 500 baseball player list. Fielder is rated 17th.

Last year, Cabrera and Fielder (who played with Milwaukee then) combined for 58 home runs and 225 RBIs. Verlander — the reigning AL Cy Young and MVP — went 24-5, with 250 strikeouts and a 2.40 ERA.

In addition to Cabrera and Fielder, the Tigers feature tons of potential in their lineup.

Austin Jackson was great as a rookie in 2010, but not so much last year. Hopefully, his lack of a leg-kick this year will help him to cut down on his strikeouts. He is at his best when hitting the ball to all fields. If he can get on base like he did in 2010, he could compete with New York’s Curtis Granderson for most runs scored.

Brennan Boesch was has having a fantastic year before being injured. Hitting in front of Cabrera and Fielder should only help the ever aggressive lefty.

Delmon Young is in a contract year. The former No. 1 overall pick has the talent to hit. If he continues his torrid spring he will have a monster year for the Tigers and cash in this fall.

If Ryan Raburn can hit in April, May and June the way he does in July, August and September he could make himself a fan favorite the way Brandon Inge — not going to talk about him — did with his defense.
Jhonny Peralta was an all-star a year ago. He is solid in the field and at the plate. Not many teams have a .300 hitter No. 7 in the lineup.

Alex Avila had a breakout year in 2011 and that is expected to continue this season. He has power and the ability to work the count and increase a pitch count with the best. Hopefully, Gerald Laird can stay healthy to give Avila some rest so he will be at 100 percent come playoff time.

The potential of this lineup is tremendous. The same was said in 2007, but they faltered in every facet. I don’t see that happening again.

As for the pitching staff, there is a chance that four of their five starters could win 15 games.
Verlander is self-explanatory.

Max Scherzer won 15 games last year. He is a former first-round draft pick and would be an ace on many other teams.

Rick Porcello — who is only 23 and not the 30 everyone seems to think he is — has won 14 games twice in three years. He has been consistent this spring and there is no reason to believe he won’t develop further this year.

Doug Fister won eight times in 11 starts following his arrival in Detroit last year. He was great — without the wins — while in Seattle to start the year. With his control (hopefully the finger issue is resolved) and this lineup, he could easily win 15 games.

At the No. 5 spot is Drew Smyly. He made the big club with just one season of pro ball experience. That sort of trial has worked out in the recent past with both Verlander and Porcello. Even if he doesn’t pan out this year, there are plenty of other candidates to pitch in the five spot. Besides, the Tigers only need adequate from that spot.

The bench is good enough but the bullpen could be a question mark. No team is perfect but the Tigers could be pretty close this year.

All 58 predictions from ESPN and CBS Sports have the Tigers winning the AL Central. Six from ESPN and three from CBS have the Tigers winning the World Series.

The American League is brutal this year. The Los Angeles Angels (picked 20 times to win the title) are the favorite along with Texas (9), Tampa Bay (8) and the Tigers. There should be no way the National League wins it all this year.

Mike Illitch has spent his money. Dave Dombrowski has filled out the roster. Now it’s time for Jim Leyland to manage and the players to do what it takes to win a World Series for one of professional sports best owners.

It will be a fun season of baseball in Detroit. I’m not going to predict a World Series title for the Tigers, obviously I want them to win. Baseball is just too difficult a sport to predict at times. They will be in the playoffs and from there anything can happen.

Now, let’s play ball!

Three times a year The Daily News releases its all-area selections for the fall, winter and spring sports seasons.

Let’s just say its not my most favorite thing to do. Reason being, it is so hard to pick sometimes.

Now, there are athletes that separate themselves and make their decision a no-brainer. Many times that is not the case. Then what?

It becomes really difficult when trying to decide with six schools of different sizes, conferences and competition. I attend many games throughout each season and watch how everyone performs.

Coaches send in nominations, which isn’t the final say, and I go over the lists from there. I try to put together the best teams possible, but not everyone will agree. That would be impossible. Today’s winter all-area page was no different.

My players of the year were Austin Somerfield of Greenville (boys basketball), Leah Somerfield of Greenville (girls basketball) and Jordan Thomas of Greenville (wrestling).

Deciding all three were difficult.

I chose Thomas in wrestling over Jordan Betham of Lakeview and Kenneth Dittenber of Carson-City Crystal. All three were individual state champions and well deserving.

Thomas was selected for many reasons including his undefeated season and third straight state title, not to mention his 219-3 career overall record. Had it not been for Taylor Massa of St. Johns, Thomas would have been a four-time state champion. Instead, Massa became a four-time state champion and finished his career undefeated.

Betham is graduating and Dittenber will be chasing a third straight title next year as a senior.

As for the all-area selections, wrestling has been rather easy the past two years. All selections were, at a minimum, state qualifiers, which totaled 16 area wrestlers.

In boys basketball, I choose Austin Somerfield over  teammate Chris Mickey and Montabella’s Charley Helmer.

Two earned all-state honorable mentions, Somerfield in Class A and Helmer in Class C. All three are extremely talented and will continue their careers at the next level.

Somerfield got the nod because of Greenville’s brutal schedule, especially in the O-K White Conference. He was a consistent scoring and rebounding threat every night. And he helped lead Greenville to its first conference title since 1993 and a 19-1 regular season. Mickey helped to do the same things and was the hardest to decide against.

In girls basketball, I chose Somerfield over Montabella’s Sarah Miller.

Both are sophomores and put up similar numbers. While Somerfield did not earn first team league honors, which I think was a major oversight, Miller did.

Both faced constant double and even triple teams all year long.

Somerfield got the nod again because of the schedule and strength of opponents. Facing East Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Christian and Northview twice in conference play is pretty tough.

The decision was a tough one and one that will not change in the next couple of years. Next year, any one of today’s first team could be player of the year.

There will be plenty of new faces on the boys team next year as 12 of the 15 players selected were seniors. Only seven of the 15 girls selected were seniors.

It is nice to honor our area athletes for their hard work all year long. I hope you enjoy this feature.

Greenville High School has a really good wrestling team and wrestling program.

That is evident as the team is making its third straight — fourth in five years — appearance at the Division 2 team state finals in Battle Creek. It is evident when 11 individual wrestlers place at districts and another six make it beyond regionals to the state finals.

With that being said, there is a problem or rather problems. They are the St. Johns Redwings.

St. Johns — the two-time defending Division 2 state champions — is a juggernaut. They are the best team in the state, hands downs, and one of the best in the nation.

They will win their third straight state title and may very well make it look easy.

Unfortunately, the other seven teams making the trip to Battle Creek are battling for second place. Possibly, six of them are vying just to make it to the semifinals.

Reason being? The Lowell Red Arrows.

The Red Arrows are ranked No. 2 in Division 2, behind the Redwings. The are No. 2 in the power rankings (all divisions), behind the Redwings and ranked nationally, as well.

For all of that, the Red Arrows get to lose to the Redwings in the state finals.

Greenville coach Paul Johnson told me he thinks this is the best team Lowell has ever had. That’s saying a lot considering their history of state championships (2009, ‘04, ‘02) and second place finishes (2007, ‘01, ‘00, ‘99).

Now, I’m not saying this to take away from anything the Yellow Jackets or the other five teams in Battle Creek have done this year. It’s just in wrestling the best teams usually win. That’s it.

There isn’t a wrestler in the Greenville program that doesn’t realize St. Johns is the best. Greenville was outstanding last year — even better than this year — and still lost by a fair margin to the Redwings in the 2011 finals.

The 2010 Greenville team was even better than last year’s team and still lost to the Redwings, although that was much closer (by a point) in the semifinals.

Unfortunately, in wrestling there isn’t going to be a cold shooting night. A couple of fumbles isn’t going to change the momentum of the game.

St. Johns had 10 individual regional champions. That’s out of 14 weight classes.

Facing the St. Johns lineup is like facing Justin Verlander every single game. There is no No. 5 starter to contend with.

The Yellow Jackets know this. And if they defeat Tecumseh in the quarterfinals tonight, they will run into the domination that is St. Johns wrestling.

Regardless, the Yellow Jackets will battle and try their best in Battle Creek. They have fought through injuries and adversity this year.

They will not be intimidated by the Redwings. That is true.

They just won’t be able to defeat them. That is also true.

This is just a year where really good isn’t going to be really good enough. It’s also a year where great isn’t even enough.

This is a year where elite is what will win a state championship. The St. Johns Redwings are the elite team.

The Greenville Yellow Jackets boys basketball team are just three wins away from a perfect regular season. Now 17-0, finishing the year perfect would be an incredible accomplishment.

Amazingly, this is not the first 17-0 Greenville team I’ve witnessed. The 2000-2001 Yellow Jackets also began the year 17-0.

That team consisted of the likes of Zach Ingles, Taylor Jorgensen, Brian Albert, Joel Evans, Kody Taylor, Blake Russell and others.

They played in the Mid-Michigan A division against Ionia, St. Johns, Owosso and Mount Pleasant. Crossover games with the Mid-Michigan B were against Corunna, Alma, Cheasaning, Durand and Ovid-Elsie.

In 2001, the Yellow Jackets reached sixth in the AP basketball poll. St. Johns, Ionia and Corunna were also ranked in the top 10.

They did not finish the year undefeated as they lost their last three games at St. Johns, at Corunna and home against Mount Pleasant.

According to Ingles, St. Johns was 16-1 —  only loss was to Greenville — when the 17 game winning streak ended. Corunna was undefeated and Mount Pleasant was near 15 wins at the time.

The Yellow Jackets defeated Lowell in the first round of districts, but lost to Forest Hills Northern in the semifinals. Northern ended up losing to Rockford in the district finals.

“We were very offensive oriented. We were very good offensively and averaged in the 80s,” Ingles said. “We pressed off of makes, we pressed off of misses and we scored pretty easily. No zone, it was all man-to-man defense.”

That was my first year in the Greenville area. I had moved from metro Detroit in January 2001 to take the job as sports director of then WSCG Radio — now WGLM.

It was a heck of a way to start a broadcast career watching a team roll through the schedule the way they did. I did not see the final three regular season games, as I had to head home due to the illness of my mother.

I remember they were a fun team to watch. I don’t remember a lot of details outside of a few. I never expected to be around this long or to make this area my permanent home, but I have.

I do remember one of the best games I’ve ever seen. It was at Ionia, the Yellow Jackets were down seven with less than two minutes to go. Ingles went off and tied the game. Jorgensen won it in overtime after a steal and layup.

Ingles went on to play college basketball and professional ball in Europe, Iceland and Argentina. He is now an assistant coach at Grand Rapids Community College.

Still living in the area, Ingles has watched many of the current Jackets’ games. He said they are extremely athletic and big.

“They are fun to watch. It’s a different Greenville team from any team we’ve had,” Ingles said. “They play on the rim. For the first time, maybe in the history of Greenville basketball, when the ball is on the rim Greenville is at the advantage.”

The question I hear most is can the Yellow Jackets go undefeated? Ingles thinks they can.

“I think they can and hope they do,” Ingles said of running the table. “It’s great to see the community around them. This is exactly what small town community basketball is about. It will be tough because you will get everyone’s best the rest of the way.”

The current Yellow Jackets already clinched a share of the O-K White Conference title with last week’s win over Grand Rapids Christian. They can win the league outright with a home win tonight against Lowell.

The league championship was the first in school history since 1993. That team went 18-5 overall and 12-2 in the Seaway Conference.

Beginning on March 5, the Yellow Jackets will be looking for its first district title since 1983. That team won a school record 20 games against three losses and won both league and district titles.

Greenville went 19-2 in 1972 for the second most wins in school history. In all, they have won 18 games four times and 17 games twice including this year.

According to the Greenville Public Schools website, the Yellow Jackets have won 13 conference titles, 23 district titles, four regional titles and was state runnerup in 1919.

The current Yellow Jackets are already in select company. Regardless of how tough it is to distinguish teams and eras, the Yellow Jackets have the chance over the next few weeks to separate themselves from the pack and go down as one of the best teams ever in Greenville history.

Well, I didn’t see that coming. Neither did anyone else for that matter.

On Thursday, the Detroit Tigers made the signing of mega-free agent Prince Fielder official. First word of the signing began to leak on Tuesday.

Just supposed rumors of the signing sent the baseball world into a frenzy, especially Tigers’ fans.

Fielder is the biggest (no pun intended) free agent ever to be signed by the Tigers. It trumps the signings of Pudge Rodriguez (although that could be debated) and Magglio Ordonez.

This is more proof that Mike Ilitch is as great a baseball owner as he is a hockey owner.

For years — mostly prior to 2006 —  it was argued Ilitch only cared for the Red Wings. They were a team with annual success and a team — prior to the salary cap — that spent like the New York Yankees.

I argued that Ilitch was a great baseball owner and probably wanted a World Series championship more than a Stanley Cup. The first few years after Ilitch purchased the team, in the early 90s, the Tigers held the highest payroll in baseball. Their payroll of around $40 million (oh, how times have changed) consisted of the highest paid player with Cecil “Big Daddy” Fielder.

The Tigers spent lots of money with hardly any revenue and no results. It was then the Tigers took a few steps back and completed some of the worst season’s in Tigers and even MLB history.

Ilitch finally brought in a sound baseball mind in Dave Dombrowksi, who in turn fill the front offices with other top baseball minds. Since, it has resulted in great drafts, improved records, a division title, a World Series appearance and a reason to spend money like nobody’s business.

How shocking is this signing? Extremely. When I first heard of the news it felt as if I just downed about 12 Red Bulls. I was a bit excited.

Not one expert expected the Fielder landing spot to be Detroit. But like the signing of Rodriguez, Ilitch wanted it done, so it got done.

Fielder has been on the mind of Ilitch since the team was purchased. Then 8 years old, Fielder soon became know for his playfulness around the stadium and then for hitting homeruns at Tiger stadium before he was a teenager.

In 2002, Milwaukee drafted Fielder with the seventh overall pick. Had he slipped just one more spot the Tigers would have grabbed him with the eighth spot. So it’s been a long time coming for the return of Prince to Detroit.

Even though this signing happened quickly the Tigers prepared themselves for the potential problems.

Miguel Cabrera was consulted and will switch to third. He was going to play third had the Tigers reached the World Series last year.

Brandon Inge — although not happy — will have to deal with it. If not, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Inge dumped or traded.

The lineup will be versatile. It will be explosive.

The defense on the other hand, who knows? We will shortly though. And if not the best, the Tigers are banking on the run production to cover the miscues.

A Tigers game this year could be both exciting and frustrating at the same time. But then again who knows what else the Tigers have planned before spring training begins in a few weeks.

In my column last week I said I didn’t expect the Tigers to sign Prince Fielder. I was wrong. I also said, it would be a nice problem to have.

It is definitely a nice problem to have.

This is the time of the year I really get the itch for baseball season to begin.

As the snow falls, the wind howls and the temperatures dip, I look to read every possible story on the Detroit Tigers. Spring training news reassures me warmer weather is on the way, eventually.

This week I have not enjoyed reading those articles on the Tigers. My heart nearly stopped earlier this week — not because I received my season ticket renewal — but because of the loss of designated hitter Victor Martinez.

Martinez was fabulous in his first year in a Tigers uniform hitting .330 with 12 home runs and 103 RBIs. He provided protection in the lineup for Miguel Cabrera and was a lock to drive in a key run with runners in scoring position.

With the development of Alex Avila, Jhonny Peralta’s outstanding season and Martinez’s contributions the Tigers were able to manufacture the runs they were unable to in 2010.

With that being said, not having Martinez will have an effect on this team in 2012. How could it not?

Of the remaining free agents with the ability to produce none have done so consistently for a few years, at least not the way Martinez is capable of and should have.

And no Prince Fielder is not coming to Detroit. As Fielder’s potential homes continue to dry up it is natural to think Detroit could be the place. Very unlikely.

The Tigers are not going to sign a first-baseman only (could be a DH) with Cabrera under contract through 2015 and Martinez through 2014. Martinez will be back next year and then what?

I suppose that would be a nice problem to have, but I one I don’t think will happen.

That leaves players like Vladimir Guerrero, Carlos Pena, Johnny Damon and Casey Kotchman among others. The Tigers don’t have an option in the minors that can produce the way Martinez did.

I wouldn’t mind seeing the Tigers pick up Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes. It will cost a lot of money, but his defense and offensive potential would help.

The Tigers will rely on their pitching even more now. They have one of the best rotations in the league and that is without a set No. 5 starter.

As long as offensive production remains the same from returning players and Austin Jackson returns to his 2010 form the Tigers will be fine.

Unfortunately, the New York Yankees improved with a trade for Michael Pineda, the Los Angeles Angels improved with the signings of Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson and the Texas Rangers stayed steady with the signing of Yu Darvish.

Even though the American League will be better this year than last, the AL Central will not. The Tigers could still win the division. Once that happens anything can happen in the playoffs.Tigers will still contend

Bruce Bentley

The Greenville Yellow Jackets boys basketball team has taken the “one game at a time” approach all season long. For Greenville, tonight’s O-K White Conference game at Grand Rapids Christian is just one of 20 games on the 2011-2012 schedule.

For Greenville fans and family it is probably the biggest regular season game in a long time. Without having the playoff significance — lose and go home — this is a game between two of the best teams in the conference and area.

“At this time of the year it probably is,” Greenville coach Mark Haist said. “I was thinking about it, but we still talk about one game at a time.”

Basically, what Haist is saying is this game will not make or break the Yellow Jackets’ season.

“Win or lose, it’s still just the third conference game of the year,” Haist said. “If we get a victory we can’t think we’ve wrapped up the conference title. If we don’t win we can’t hang our heads and look back. It’s one game at a time.”

Haist is right. But for us fans and media we can salivate at a matchup like this.

Greenville is 8-0 overall and 2-0 in the league. Christian is 5-2 overall and 2-0 in the league. The Eagles’ losses were in quadruple overtime to Rockford and at Cornerstone University to Hudsonville.

Both teams are high scoring (67.7 pts/gm for Greenville and 71 pts/gm for GRC), they don’t give up a lot of points and have multiple players that contribute, although the Eagles have the advantage in depth.

“They are very athletic and have the Harris (Drake) kid that everyone has heard about,” Haist said. “But they have several other good athletic players. The other thing is they are deep. They will play about 12 kids throughout the game.”

In case you haven’t heard, Harris is a legitimate Division 1 recruit. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo has made frequent appearances at Harris’ football and basketball games and Michigan coach John Beilein was in the crowd at Cornerstone.

Harris averages 17.5 points per game. The Yellow Jackets have three players averaging more than 12 points — Austin Somerfield, Chris Mickey and Torrey Davis — per game.

The Yellow Jackets are coming off a 74-35 dismantling of Muskegon Mona Shores on Tuesday. This team is focused and confident. They have bought in to the one game at a time mentality and have not looked ahead yet.

Tonight’s game will be a test. I think a win will be more important, mentally, to this team than a loss.
A win on the road will be incredible. A win over Christian will establish the Yellow Jackets as a legitimate postseason contender.

A loss … and it’s just another game. The Eagles still have to make a trip to Greenville.

Greenville has been fun to watch this year. I suspect tonight will be the same. If you have the opportunity to make the trip I suggest you do, but arrive early since the arena will be packed.

Baseball season is more than a month away with spring training beginning in mid-February, but it has been on my mind quite a bit the last week or so.

Normally, that would be because of the snow on the ground or the 20 degree temperatures. Baseball always brings thoughts of warmth and sunshine.

Right now, baseball has been on my mind because Monday is the announcement of who will join former Chicago Cubs third baseman Ron Santo in the 2012 National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The consensus from most baseball “experts” is that long time Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin will be that person. Former Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Morris is considered a long shot.

Larkin, in his third year on the ballot, received 62.1 percent (75 percent is needed) of the vote last year (up from 51.6 in 2010). Morris, in his 13th year on the ballot, received 53.5 percent last year. They were third and fourth in voting last year behind inductees Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven.

I have no problem with either of those two getting into the hall of fame. Larkin was a 12-time all-star while Morris was the winningest pitcher of the 80s and one of the best postseason performers ever.

My gripe is the complete overlooking of former Tigers shortstop Alan Trammell. Trammell, in his 11th year on the ballot, received his highest percentage ever with a meager 24.3 percent in 2011. Trammell was one of the best shortstops of his era and all-time. His stats stack up with the current hall of fame shortstops and this year’s expected nominee Larkin.

I’m not just saying this because Trammell is my favorite player of all time. As a kid, he was the player I wanted to be. I’ve spent a fair amount of time researching numbers and it has only reassured my belief that Trammell deserves a spot in Cooperstown.

Here are some comparisons of Trammell’s stats with the 21 current hall of fame shortstops. Of the 21, only three have played (Robin Yount, Cal Ripken Jr. and Ozzie Smith) in my lifetime:

Only Ernie Banks (512), Ripken Jr. (431) and Yount (251) have hit more than Trammell’s 185 career home runs.

Trammell has a higher career batting average (.285) than 11 others and is tied with Yount. That includes Banks, Ripken Jr. and Smith.

Only three shortstops have had more than 3,000 hits (Honus Wagner, Ripken Jr. and Yount). Trammell’s 2,365 is more than 12 others.

Trammell has more RBIs (1,003) than 12 others and more runs (1,231) than nine others, but is within 100 runs of another five players.

Now in comparison to this year’s golden boy, Larkin, Trammell matches up as well.

In 19 years, Larkin hit .295, had 2,340 hits, 198 home runs, 960 RBIs and scored 1,329 times. In addition, doubles, triples, on base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS are all very close.

While Larkin made 12 all-stars, Trammell made six, but was behind Cal Ripken Jr. for many of those years. After Smith retired, Larkin had to compete with the likes of Edgar Renteria, Jay Bell and Jeff Blauser.

Larkin won the 1994 MVP while Trammell should have won the 1987 MVP. He did earn the 1984 World Series MVP.

Trammell won four Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers. Larkin won three Gold Gloves, but won nine Silver Sluggers. Smith was nowhere near the offensive force Ripken Jr. was.

With that being said, I feel Trammell is just as deserving as Larkin and many others already in Cooperstown.

Maybe missing out on the ESPN golden age hurt Trammell’s chances. Maybe it’s because his numbers don’t look as high as recent/current shortstops like Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Tejada.

It was a different game in the ‘80s and early ‘90s.

I don’t expect to see Trammell’s name called Monday. I only hope to see an increase in votes. Too bad, Trammell’s hall of fame nomination may very well have to go the way of Santo and have be voted in by the Veterans Committee.