Does He Belong in the Hall of Fame? The Case for Dick Allen

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Another Edition Of: Does He Belong in the Hall of Fame? The Case for Dick Allen

“Dick Allen hits the ball harder than any player I’ve ever seen!” –Willie Mays

Now that’s quite a quote! In my recent post about the Phillies historic collapse in 1964, some of our readers commented that Dick Allen has been overlooked for the Hall of Fame. I’ve heard this before, so I decided to do a little research into his career. After doing so, I would certainly have to concur: Dick Allen belongs in the Hall. I also found that many historians regard him as the best player not yet in. Typical is Wall Street Journal sports columnist Allen Barra who wrote that “A growing body of baseball historians think that Dick Allen is the best player eligible for the Hall of Fame.” One thing I learned for sure: He is a better hitter and player than a good percentage of those already in the Hall of Fame. Read on…

Dick Allen’s Career Statistics:

Dick Allen played 15 seasons (1963-’77) in the majors with the Phillies (1963-’69, 1975-’76), Cardinals (1970), White Sox (1972-’74), and the Athletics (1977). Over his career, he hit.292, with 351 home runs, 1119 RBIs, .534 slugging percentage, and .378 on-base percentage. Allen had an 11-year peak that was truly staggering, putting up a .299/.386/.554 from 1964 through 1974. That’s a slash line that would be impressive in the high-scoring 1930s, but Allen did it in the heart of the “Pitchers’ Era” (think Koufax, Gibson, Drysdale) in the 1960s. 

Allen was a seven-time All-Star, National League Rookie of the Year (1964), American League MVP (1972), two-time American League home run leader (1972, 1974), and one-time American League RBI leader (1972). He led the National League in slugging percentage once and the American League twice. For many years he held the highest slugging percentage among players not in the Hall. Allen hit over 30 home runs six times. His rookie year of 1964 ranks among the greatest rookie seasons ever. He led the league in runs (125), triples (13), extra base hits (80) and total bases (352); and finished in the top five in batting average (.318), slugging average (.557), hits (201), and doubles (38).

When the Phillies suffered their collapse in 1964 by losing ten straight games to blow a 6 ½ game lead with 12 to play, Allen hit .438 with five doubles, two triples, three  home runs and 11 RBI in those last 12 games.

Allen’s OPS+ Tells the Story!

Many historians point out that Dick Allen began his career during the mid-1960s, a period so dominated by pitchers that it’s sometimes called the “second dead ball era.” Allen also played much of his career in pitcher-friendly parks like Busch Memorial Stadium, Dodger Stadium, and Comiskey Park. That’s why his offensive numbers and his 156 OPS+ (Adjusted On-base Plus Slugging) is so impressive. This valuable sabrmetric stat adjusts a player’s OPS for the era and parks in which he played. Of the players whose careers intersected with Dick Allen, only Mickey Mantle‘s lifetime OPS+ of 172 topped Allen’s lifetime 156 (100 is the average for major leaguer). In addition, his career 156 OPS+ is the second highest of any retired player not in the Hall of Fame, and currently ranks Allen 20^th all-time. What’s even more impressive, he ranks 6^th all-time among right-handed hitters, tied with Frank Thomas and Willie Mays, and ahead of Hank Aaron and Joe DiMaggio! Dick Allen, at-bat for at-bat, is one of the top 20 hitters in baseball history. To me, that stat alone qualifies him for the Hall of Fame.

One Of The Most Powerful Sluggers Ever!

Not only did Dick Allen put up great offensive numbers, his massive strength and body torque produced prodigious blasts off his bat. Baseball historian Bill Jenkinson ranks him with Foxx and Mantle – and just a notch below Babe Ruth – as the four top long-distance sluggers in baseball history. Twice Allen cleared Connie Mack Stadium‘s 65-foot-high right center field scoreboard: a feat considered virtually impossible for a right-handed hitter. One was a massive blow estimated at 529 feet.

Controversial? His Teammates Loved Him!

Controversy always seemed to find Dick Allen, and perhaps that’s why he’s not yet been elected to the Hall. Bill James rated Dick Allen as the second-most controversial player in baseball history, behind only Rogers Hornsby. But that harsh judgment doesn’t seem to square with comments by those who played with him. Here’s some quotes from Dick Allen’s contemporaries:

“Dick Allen was ahead of his time. He played the game in the most conservative era in baseball history. It was a time of change and protest in the country. His way of doing things would go unnoticed today. If I had been manager of the Phillies, I would have found a way to make Dick Allen comfortable. When Dick Allen was comfortable, balls left the park” -Willie Stargell

“Allen was not a “clubhouse lawyer” who harmed team chemistry. Dick was the leader of our team, the captain, the manager on the field. He took care of the young kids, took them under his wing. And he played every game as if it was his last day on earth” –Chuck Tanner

“Dick’s behavior never had a negative effect on the team. His teammates always liked him. I’d take him in a minute.” Gene Mauch

“I’ve been around the game a long time, and he’s the greatest player I’ve ever seen play in my life. He had the most amazing season in 1972 I’ve ever seen. He’s the smartest baseball man I’ve ever been around in my life. He taught me how to pitch from a hitter’s prospective, and taught me how to play the game right. There’s no telling the numbers this guy could have put up if all he worried about was stats. The guy belongs in the Hall of Fame.” Hall-of-Famer Rich Gossage

“I actually thought that Dick was better than his stats. Every time we needed a clutch hit, he got it. He got along great with his teammates and he was very knowledgeable about the game. He was the ultimate team guy.” Teammate Stan Bahnsen

“Dick Allen was my mentor. The baseball writers used to claim that Dick would divide the clubhouse along racial lines. That was a lie. The truth is that Dick never divided any clubhouse.” –Mike Schmidt

All-in-all, it sounds to me like Dick Allen belongs in the Hall of Fame. What do you think?

-Gary Livacari

Photo Credits:Most photos from  http://dickallen15.com/media/galleries/#prettyPhoto; Others from Google search

Information: Excerpts edited from the Dick Allen Wikipedia page

Statistics from Baseball-Reference, Dick Allen page

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