FanNation - The Republic of Sport

By Chuck Johnson On December 8th, the Baseball Hall of Fame???s Veterans Committee will announce its Class of 2009. There are 20 former players on the ballot, broken up into two groups of ten, those whose prime career years were before World War II, and those after. Among the candidates in the modern group: Gil Hodges, the Brooklyn Dodgers first baseman of the fifties and the manager of the Miracle Mets of 1969 A pair of Minnesota Twins teammates from their glory years of the late ???60???s, outfielder Tony Oliva and pitcher Jim Kaat 1971 NL batting champ and MVP and manager of the Yankees 1996-2003 dynasty, Joe Torre Former Cubs third baseman and longtime announcer Ron Santo, whose candidacy has been the subject of passionate discussion here and here on Dugout Central Another player on the ballot is a former teammate of Santo on the 1974 White Sox ??? one who I believe to be more deserving of election than Santo. This player was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1964 with the Philadelphia Phillies and the 1972 American League MVP with the Chicago White Sox. An All Star in both leagues (seven times altogether) at two different positions, this player was one of the most feared hitters of his time, and was dominant offensively in an era dominated by pitching. I???m referring to Dick (don???t call me Richie) Allen. Allen posted a .292 lifetime average, 351 homers, 1,119 RBI???s and 1,099 runs. He was a three-time league leader in slugging percentage and extra-base hits and twice led his league in on-base percentage. He finished in the top five in slugging seven times and extra-base hits six times. Allen was a respected baserunner as well, posting 133 career steals. Allen played in all 162 games in his Rookie of the Year season, leading the NL in runs, total bases, triples and extra base hits while amassing 201 hits and finishing with a .318 average. Allen went on to hit over .300 in each of his first four seasons and seven times overall during his career. Despite playing in a time sometimes referred to as the ???second deadball era,??? Allen???s career slugging percentage of .534 places him 42nd all-time. At the time of his retirement in 1977 he ranked 19th. Of all the players ahead of him on the list, only Mark McGwire is not in the Hall of Fame who is eligible. For his power, Allen was relatively small at 5???11, 190 pounds. Yet he swung a 40-ounce bat, sometimes going up to 44 ounces. He was widely considered to be the best pure fastball hitter in baseball, combining great timing with natural strength. Allen is the only player ever to hit a ball over the left-field double decked grandstand at old Shibe Park, and he routinely hit balls into the upper deck ??? a feat rarely accomplished by others in its 61 one year history. He was also the only right-handed hitter to clear the rightfield bleachers at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, and he holds the record for the longest homer to left field at old Busch Stadium in St. Louis. On the negative side, Allen was less than enthusiastic about the defensive side of the game, twice leading the National League in errors at both first and third base. His 41 errors at third base in 1964 is the NL record for the position. What hurt Allen the most, however, was what would be considered erratic behavior. In the early 1960???s, African-American players had yet to be fully accepted across the Major Leagues. Behavior which would have been considered acceptable by a white player was deemed to be ???disruptive??? when done by a black player. Allen had an infamous fight with Phillies teammate Frank Thomas in which Thomas was injured and missed time on the field. In 1967, he reported to a game with his arm heavily bandaged; his story was he had been pushing his car up a hill when his hand and arm went through the headlight. He was suspended multiple times during his time in Philadelphia, with most of these occurrences the result of the misconception of a black man not respecting white authority, and not of actual wrong doing. One can almost paint a similar line between Allen and Manny Ramirez ??? both essentially quit on their teams over a perceived lack of respect, both from the organization and the media. Allen was a quiet, independent man, and when given the respect he felt he earned, played exceedingly well. After brief stops in St. Louis and Los Angeles, Allen thrived in Chicago under the relaxed managerial style of manager Chuck Tanner. His first season in Chicago, Allen almost singlehandedly brought a division title to the South Side, taking a team which had won 79 games in 1971 to 87 wins in ???72, finishing second ??? 5.5 games behind the eventual World Champion Oakland Athletics. Allen was rewarded with his first MVP Award after leading the league in several offensive categories including homers (37). The following season the Sox again were again in contention with Allen leading the way. On June 30th, in a game against the A???s in Oakland, Allen suffered a broken left leg and missed the remainder of the season. At the time, the Sox were in third place in the AL West, one game behind the A???s, with Allen leading the league in doubles and slugging percentage, second in homers and fourth in average. At the time of his injury, the Sox had a record of 38-33; without their offensive leader, they finished the season in a spin, falling to fifth place and ending the season with a 77-85 record. Allen returned healthy in 1974 and again led the AL in homers and slugging, but his season ended on September 14th, ironically, after an altercation with none other than Ron Santo, who was in the final year of his career with the Sox after leaving the Cubs following the 1973 season. The White Sox sold Allen to the Atlanta Braves after the season, but Allen instead retired. His old team, the Phillies, talked Allen into returning in 1975, and after two mediocre seasons there moved onto Oakland in 1977, where he again disappeared during the season after being told he was being made the team???s full time DH. This time his retirement was permanent. Like Santo, Allen played just 15 major league seasons. Unlike Santo, who played 150 or more games in 11 of his 15 years, Allen reached that plateau only four times. Yet despite having played 494 fewer games, Allen???s career numbers are as good or better than Santo???s. And while no one will can make the claim Allen was underrated defensively, I???m of the impression Santo was overrated with the glove, as his 11 seasons of 20 or more errors will attest. While admittedly not a perfect tool, because it doesn???t include defense in its rankings, the Baseball Reference Hall of Fame monitor ranks Allen 151st all time, with Santo 185th. Allen???s total of 99 career monitor points has him just below the HOF average of 100, whereas Santo comes in with 88 points. Immediately above Allen on the list, with 101 points respectively, are Luis Gonzalez and Andruw Jones, and with 100 points is Fred McGriff. Just below, with 97 points, is Jason Giambi. None of these four players has a chance at induction, so the voters will most certainly need to look at other factors when considering Allen for election. I think Santo will get a ton of sympathy votes, what with losing both legs in his battle with diabetes, and from his long standing tenure as the radio analyst for the Cubs. When Allen left baseball, he left baseball. His name has faded into the pages of the record book, and his absence has hurt his chances as much as Santo???s continued visibility has helped his. I do know this. In the days before smaller ballparks, juiced balls and players, before televised home run hitting contests, no one went to the concession stands when Allen was scheduled to hit. You can???t say that about Ron Santo, or Joe Torre, or Gil Hodges, or 99% of the guys who ever played this game. And that means something.