That Time Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker Appeared on Magnum PI

Baseball players appearing on television shows is nothing new for Major Leaguers…past or present.

And while they can’t all be recruited to play outfield for the Springfield Isotopes (“it’s like there’s a party in my mouth…and everyone’s invited”) or pitch soap for Zest, some do bit roles on television shows.

One of the first times I remember seeing a former big leaguer playing himself on TV was when Hall of Famer skipper Leo Durocher had a chance encounter with the hard throwing Jethro Bodine on “The Beverly Hillbillies”.

But my favorite involved Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell.

The legendary Detroit Tigers double play combo appeared in a 1983 episode of “Magnum PI”. The middle infielders were sharing a drink at a Motor City watering hole when they overheard Thomas Magnum complaining about not getting tickets to the last game of a sold out homestand.

The rest, as they say, is television history.