WHY I THINK DICK ALLEN SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK DICK ALLEN SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

Dick Allen was one of the greatest hitters of all time. He played hard and aggressively because he thought (and perhaps knew) that he was always being treated inappropriately because he was black. You could see him writing “Boo!” in the dirt around first or third base, and was once accused of being the aggressor of a barroom brawl when he showed up with large cuts in his hands, which he really got when he pushed his car by the lights in the rain. He sometimes wore a batting helmet while in the field because fans would throw things at him. The point is that he played very hard, and got strong results on account of that effort. Allen was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1964 and the AL MVP in 1972. Allen was a big time slugger who hit 351 career home runs and led his league in homers twice and in slugging percentage three times. He also had a lifetime batting average of .292 and played first base, third base, and leftfield defensively. Dick Allen started his career with the Phillies in 1963, batting .292 in ten games. He batted .318 in 1964 to win the Rookie of the Year Award and batted over .300 in the next three years before slipping to .263 in “The Year of the Pitcher”, 1968. Allen batted .288 in the summer of 1969 before being traded to the Cardinals. He batted .279 with them in 1970 before being traded again, this time to the Dodgers. Allen batted .295 in Los Angeles in 1971 before being traded to the White Sox, mostly on account of his attitude and lack of discipline. He was the AL MVP the next year for batting .308 with 37 homers and 113 RBI’s. He also accomplished a rare feat when he hit two inside-the-park home runs in one game on July 31 (both off of Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven). Allen batted .316 and .301 after that before being traded back to the Phillies. He batted .233 in 1975 and .268 in 85 games in 1976. Allen, clearly on his way down, was traded by the Phillies to the A’s and retired after driving in 31 runs in 54 games in 1977. Dick Allen was one of the best sluggers in baseball’s history, a seven time .300 hitter in the heaviest pitchers’ era in history, and a useful defensive jack of all trades. He was easily good enough to be a Hall of Famer. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games career: 1,749 season high: 162 in 1964 

At Bats  career: 6,332 season high: 632 in 1964 

Hits career: 1,848 season high: 201 in 1964 

Doubles career: 320 season high: 38 in 1964 

Triples career: 79 season high: 14 in 1965 led NL: 13 in 1964 

Home Runs career: 351 season high: 40 in 1966 led AL: 37 in 1972, 32 in 1974 

Runs career: 1,099 season high: 125 in 1964 led NL: 125 in 1964 

Runs Batted In career: 1,119 season high: 113 in 1972 led AL: 113 in 1972 

Stolen Bases career: 133 season high: 20 in 1967 

Walks career: 894 season high: 99 in 1972 led AL: 99 in 1972 

Strikeouts career: 1,556 season high: 161 in 1968 led NL: 138 in 1964, 150 in 1965 

Batting Average career: .292 season high: .318 in 1964 

On Base Percentage career: .378 season high: .420 in 1972 led NL: .404 in 1967 led AL: .420 in 1972 

Slugging Percentage career: .534 season high: .632 in 1966 led NL: .632 in 1966 led AL: .603 in 1972, .563 in 1974 

Total Bases career: 3,379 season high: 352 in 1964 led NL: 352 in 1964 

Sacrifice Hits career: 19 season high: 6 in 1964 and 1965 

Fielding Percentage career: .975 season high: .995 in 1972 led NL LF: .972 in 1968 

Double Plays career: 756 season high: 112 in 1974 led NL 3B: 29 in 1965 

Putouts career: 7,658 season high: 1,235 in 1972 

Assists career: 1,711 season high: 325 in 1964 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-brother of Hank and Ron Allen 

-nicknamed “Crash” , “Crash Helmet”, and “The Wampum Walloper” 

-was a seven time all-star and homered in the 1967 game off of Dean Chance 

-went 1-for-3 on his MLB debut 

-set the Phillies’ team record for home runs by a rookie in 1964 (29) and set the White Sox’s franchise record for homers in a season in 1972 

-hit three home runs in one game on September 29, 1968 

-was the best batter ever against Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan (.364/.567/.682) 

-was 23rd in the AL MVP Award voting in 1974 and 35th in 1973 

-finished fourth in the NL MVP Award voting in 1966, seventh in 1964, 19th in 1967, and 28th in 1965 

-led his league in home run percentage and extra-base hits three times each and in times on base once 

-led NL third basemen in games in 1964 (162) 

-had a .417 OBP in the 1976 NLCS, his only postseason action 

-won two AL Player of the Week awards in 1974 

-ranks 43rd in career slugging percentage 

-also played four games at second base, three at shortstop, one in centerfield, three as a DH, 52 as a pinch hitter, and one as a pinch runner 

-After an estimated 529 foot home run that Allen hit on May 29, 1965, Hall of Famer Willie Stargell said, "Now I know why they boo Richie all the time. When he hits a home run, there's no souvenir.”

-his number 15 is retired by the Phillies