Young and old, they came with mitts, baseballs and fond, appreciative memories.
The Navin Field Grounds Crew, the self-appointed keepers of the grounds of old Tiger Stadium, honored former Detroit Tiger greats Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker with the symbolic retiring of the double-play combo’s jerseys.
“We’re doing what the Tigers should have done years ago,” said Tom Perry, co-founder of the Navin Field crew. “For 19 seasons they were a double-play combo, major league baseball has never seen anything like it. They were the backbone of the Tigers last world championship team in 1984.
“People have been saying all along the Tigers should retire their jerseys and they haven’t done it so we figured we’d do it.