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Dick Allen



         




Richard Anthony "Dick" Allen (b. March 8, 1942, Wampum, Pennsylvania) was a professional baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics.

Dick Allen was an immensly talented slugger whose considerable skills were only rivalled by his childish antics and ability to infuriate everyone from teammates to managers to fans. The Phillies saw his potential immediately and signed him in 1960 for a large $60,000 bonus. His career got off to a turbulent start as he faced protests while playing for the Phillies' minor league affiliate in Little Rock. He nevertheless led the league in total bases. His first full year in the majors in 1964 was a great one, as he led the league in runs (125), triples (13), extra base hits (80), and total bases (352); finished in the top five in batting average (.318), slugging percentage (.557), OPS (.939), hits (201), and doubles (38); and garnered Rookie of the Year honors. But it was not a perfect year. He also led the league in strikeouts, fielded horribly at third base with a league-leading 38 errors (though to be fair he had never played the position before), and was widely blamed by sportswriters for the Phillies' pennant swoon that year.

Although Allen enjoyed several good years in Philadelphia, making All Star teams from 1965 to 1967, and leading the league in slugging (.632), OPS (1.027), and extra base hits (75) in 1966, he quickly wore out his welcome due to erratic behavior. He got in a fistfight with popular Phillie Frank Thomas in July 1965, gashed his throwing hand by pushing it through a headlight on August 24, 1967, and earned a 26-game suspension in June 1969 after being stopped by police for erratic driving and showing up late to a doubleheader; he also began drinking heavily. He engendered further controversy by changing his moniker from "Richie," which had been his nickname his entire major league career, to "Dick," saying Richie was a little boy's name. The Phillies finally had enough and sent him to the Cardinals before the 1970 season. Even this deal caused controversy, though not of Allen's making, as Curt Flood refused to report to the Phillies as part of the trade and sued baseball.

Allen earned another All Star berth in St. Louis and wore out another welcome, being traded to the Dodgers. The Dodgers soon tired of the moody slugger too, and Allen found himself with the White Sox for the 1972 season. What followed was one of the greatest all-around performances in baseball history. Allen virtually lifted the entire team to a division title and led the league in home runs (37), RBI (113), walks (99), on base percentage (.422), slugging percentage (.603), and OPS (1.023), while winning a well-deserved MVP award. Despite making the All Star team in each of his three years with the team, he had once again out lived his welcome by 1974, when he walked out on September 14 after feuding with Ron Santo. The Sox sold him to the Atlanta Braves for only $5,000 despite the fact that he led the league in slugging (.563) and OPS (.938). Allen refused to report and retired. He birefly returned to the Phillies and Athletics, but he was not the same player. Finally, Allen left baseball in typical style, walking out on the A's when they considered making him a designated hitter.

After retirement, Allen had a string of bad fortune, with his unisured house burning down in 1979 and his wife leaving him and getting the rights to his pension. He has written an autobiography aptly called Crash.

YEAR TEAM AGE G AB R H 2B 3B HR HR% RBI BB SO SB CS AVG SLG OBA OPS 1963 Phillies 21 10 24 6 7 2 1 0 0.00 2 0 5 0 0 .292 .458 .280 .738 1964 Phillies 22 162 632 125 201 38 13 29 4.59 91 67 138 3 4 .318 .557 .382 .939 1965 Phillies 23 161 619 93 187 31 14 20 3.23 85 74 150 15 2 .302 .494 .375 .870 1966 Phillies 24 141 524 112 166 25 10 40 7.63 110 68 136 10 6 .317 .632 .396 1.027 1967 Phillies 25 122 463 89 142 31 10 23 4.97 77 75 117 20 5 .307 .566 .404 .970 1968 Phillies 26 152 521 87 137 17 9 33 6.33 90 74 161 7 7 .263 .520 .352 .872 1969 Phillies 27 118 438 79 126 23 3 32 7.31 89 64 144 9 3 .288 .573 .375 .949 1970 Cardinals 28 122 459 88 128 17 5 34 7.41 101 71 118 5 4 .279 .560 .377 .937 1971 Dodgers 29 155 549 82 162 24 1 23 4.19 90 93 113 8 1 .295 .468 .395 .863 1972 Whitesox 30 148 506 90 156 28 5 37 7.31 113 99 126 19 8 .308 .603 .420 1.023 1973 Whitesox 31 72 250 39 79 20 3 16 6.40 41 33 51 7 2 .316 .612 .394 1.006 1974 Whitesox 32 128 462 84 139 23 1 32 6.93 88 57 89 7 1 .301 .563 .375 .938 1975 Phillies 33 119 416 54 97 21 3 12 2.88 62 58 109 11 2 .233 .385 .327 .712 1976 Phillies 34 85 298 52 80 16 1 15 5.03 49 37 63 11 4 .268 .480 .346 .826 1977 A's 35 54 171 19 41 4 0 5 2.92 31 24 36 1 3 .240 .351 .330 .681 TOTALS 1749 6332 1099 1848 320 79 351 5.54 1119 894 1556 133 52 .292 .534 .378 .912 LG AVERAGE 6048 733 1570 244 45 136 2.24 682 564 905 93 56 .260 .382 .325 .707 POS AVERAGE 6127 782 1638 265 44 197 3.21 843 641 981 59 41 .267 .421 .338 .759
YEAR TEAM RC RCAA RCAP OWP RC/G TB EBH ISO SEC BPA IBB HBP SAC SF GIDP OUTS PA POS 1963 Phillies 2 -1 -2 .305 2.70 11 3 .167 .167 .360 0 0 0 1 2 20 25 LF 1964 Phillies 133 62 52 .756 7.94 352 80 .239 .343 .584 13 0 6 3 8 452 708 3B 1965 Phillies 117 48 41 .719 6.88 306 65 .192 .333 .545 6 2 6 6 13 459 707 3B 1966 Phillies 129 67 64 .788 9.24 331 75 .315 .452 .663 13 3 0 4 9 377 599 3B 1967 Phillies 108 54 44 .778 8.68 262 64 .259 .454 .638 18 1 1 0 9 336 540 3B 1968 Phillies 95 39 28 .724 6.30 271 59 .257 .399 .562 15 1 2 7 7 407 605 LF 1969 Phillies 93 39 27 .728 7.63 251 58 .285 .445 .615 10 0 0 4 10 329 506 1B 1970 Cardinals 95 28 13 .650 7.43 257 56 .281 .438 .604 16 2 0 1 9 345 533 1B 1971 Dodgers 100 36 34 .686 6.47 257 48 .173 .355 .517 13 1 1 5 23 417 649 3B 1972 Whitesox 129 73 56 .817 9.31 305 70 .294 .512 .662 16 1 0 3 13 374 609 1B 1973 Whitesox 59 29 22 .766 8.56 153 39 .296 .448 .638 3 1 1 3 9 186 288 1B 1974 Whitesox 95 41 33 .734 7.43 260 56 .262 .398 .587 9 1 0 5 16 345 525 1B 1975 Phillies 51 -8 -15 .428 3.99 160 36 .151 .313 .438 4 2 1 4 19 345 481 1B 1976 Phillies 47 7 3 .565 5.31 143 32 .211 .359 .515 2 0 1 3 13 239 339 1B 1977 A's 20 -3 -5 .433 3.83 60 9 .111 .240 .395 0 1 0 4 4 141 200 1B TOTALS 1273 511 395 .714 7.20 3379 750 .242 .396 .577 138 16 19 53 164 4772 7314 LG AVERAGE 756 0 0 .500 4.27 2311 424 .122 .222 .420 71 39 56 45 138 4772 6752 POS AVERAGE 868 111 0 .557 4.91 2581 506 .154 .261 .455 86 37 34 52 155 4772 6891

DICK ALLEN LEAGUE LEADERSHIP RANKINGS

1964 NL GAMES T2ND 162; AT BATS 6TH 632; RUNS 1ST 125; HITS T3RD 201; DOUBLES T4TH 38; TRIPLES T1ST 13; HOMERUNS T7TH 29; HR/100 OUTS 8TH 6.42; HR/100 PA 9TH 4.10; HR/100 AB 9TH 4.59; WALKS 7TH 67; STRIKEOUTS 1ST 138; AVERAGE 5TH .318; SLG 3RD .557; OBA 7TH .382; OPS 5TH .939; RUNS CREATED 3RD 133; RCAA 2ND 62; RCAP 2ND 52; OWP 2ND .756; RUNS CREATED/GAME 4TH 7.94; TOTAL BASES 1ST 352; EXTRA BASE HITS 1ST 80; ISOLATED POWER 4TH .239; SECONDARY AVERAGE 5TH .343; TOTAL AVERAGE 4TH .944; BPA 4TH .584; INTENTIONAL WALKS T5TH 13; PLATE APPEARANCES 3RD 708

1965 NL GAMES 6TH 161; AT BATS T8TH 619; RUNS T10TH 93; HITS 6TH 187; DOUBLES 8TH 31; TRIPLES T2ND 14; WALKS 9TH 74; STRIKEOUTS 1ST 150; STOLEN BASES T9TH 15; AVERAGE 9TH .302; OBA 9TH .375; OPS 7TH .870; RUNS CREATED T6TH 117; RCAA 4TH 48; RCAP 4TH 41; OWP 4TH .719; RUNS CREATED/GAME 7TH 6.88; TOTAL BASES 9TH 306; EXTRA BASE HITS 9TH 65; SECONDARY AVERAGE 10TH .333; TOTAL AVERAGE 8TH .884; BPA 8TH .545; PLATE APPEARANCES 7TH 707

1966 NL RUNS 3RD 112; TRIPLES T4TH 10; HOMERUNS 2ND 40; HR/100 OUTS 1ST 10.61; HR/100 PA 1ST 6.68; HR/100 AB 1ST 7.63; RBI 3RD 110; WALKS T9TH 68; STRIKEOUTS 3RD 136; AVERAGE 4TH .317; SLG 1ST .632; OBA 3RD .396; OPS 1ST 1.027; RUNS CREATED 1ST 129; RCAA 1ST 67; RCAP 1ST 64; OWP 1ST .788; RUNS CREATED/GAME 1ST 9.24; TOTAL BASES 3RD 331; EXTRA BASE HITS 1ST 75; ISOLATED POWER 1ST .315; SECONDARY AVERAGE 1ST .452; TOTAL AVERAGE 1ST 1.088; BPA 1ST .663; INTENTIONAL WALKS T5TH 13

1967 NL DOUBLES 8TH 31; TRIPLES T5TH 10; HOMERUNS T10TH 23; HR/100 OUTS 5TH 6.85; HR/100 PA 6TH 4.26; HR/100 AB 6TH 4.97; WALKS 5TH 75; STRIKEOUTS 2ND 117; STOLEN BASES T8TH 20; AVERAGE 7TH .307; SLG 2ND .566; OBA 1ST .404; OPS 1ST .970; RUNS CREATED 6TH 108; RCAA 4TH 54; RCAP 3RD 44; OWP 2ND .778; RUNS CREATED/GAME 1ST 8.68; EXTRA BASE HITS 4TH 64; ISOLATED POWER 2ND .259; SECONDARY AVERAGE 1ST .454; TOTAL AVERAGE 1ST 1.054; BPA 1ST .638; INTENTIONAL WALKS 8TH 18

1968 NL RUNS 6TH 87; TRIPLES 4TH 9; HOMERUNS 2ND 33; HR/100 OUTS 2ND 8.11; HR/100 PA 2ND 5.45; HR/100 AB 2ND 6.33; RBI 5TH 90; WALKS 4TH 74; STRIKEOUTS 2ND 161; SLG 2ND .520; OPS 2ND .872; RUNS CREATED 8TH 95; RCAA 6TH 39; RCAP 6TH 28; OWP 4TH .724; RUNS CREATED/GAME 4TH 6.30; TOTAL BASES 7TH 271; EXTRA BASE HITS T4TH 59; ISOLATED POWER 1ST .257; SECONDARY AVERAGE 1ST .399; TOTAL AVERAGE 2ND .869; BPA 2ND .562; INTENTIONAL WALKS T8TH 15; SACRIFICE FLIES T5TH 7

1969 NL HOMERUNS T6TH 32; HR/100 OUTS 3RD 9.73; HR/100 PA 3RD 6.32; HR/100 AB 3RD 7.31; STRIKEOUTS 3RD 144; SLG 3RD .573; OPS 5TH .949; RCAA 9TH 39; OWP 9TH .728; RUNS CREATED/GAME 9TH 7.63; EXTRA BASE HITS 10TH 58; ISOLATED POWER 3RD .285; SECONDARY AVERAGE 4TH .445; TOTAL AVERAGE 5TH .988; BPA 4TH .615

1970 NL HOMERUNS T7TH 34; HR/100 OUTS 4TH 9.86; HR/100 PA 2ND 6.38; HR/100 AB 3RD 7.41; SLG 8TH .560; OPS 8TH .937; RUNS CREATED/GAME 10TH 7.43; ISOLATED POWER 3RD .281; SECONDARY AVERAGE 3RD .438; TOTAL AVERAGE 8TH .962; BPA 6TH .604; INTENTIONAL WALKS T3RD 16

1971 NL WALKS 4TH 93; STRIKEOUTS 10TH 113; OBA 6TH .395; OPS 10TH .863; RUNS CREATED T9TH 100; RCAA T8TH 36; RCAP T7TH 34; OWP 8TH .686; SECONDARY AVERAGE 7TH .355; TOTAL AVERAGE 7TH .871; INTENTIONAL WALKS T9TH 13; GIDP 2ND 23

1972 AL RUNS 4TH 90; HITS 8TH 156; DOUBLES T6TH 28; TRIPLES T10TH 5; HOMERUNS 1ST 37; HR/100 OUTS 1ST 9.89; HR/100 PA 1ST 6.08; HR/100 AB 1ST 7.31; RBI 1ST 113; WALKS T1ST 99; STRIKEOUTS 3RD 126; AVERAGE 3RD .308; SLG 1ST .603; OBA 1ST .420; OPS 1ST 1.023; RUNS CREATED 1ST 129; RCAA 1ST 73; RCAP 1ST 56; OWP 1ST .817; RUNS CREATED/GAME 1ST 9.31; TOTAL BASES 2ND 305; EXTRA BASE HITS T1ST 70; ISOLATED POWER 1ST .294; SECONDARY AVERAGE 1ST .512; TOTAL AVERAGE 1ST 1.121; BPA 1ST .662; INTENTIONAL WALKS 3RD 16

1974 AL RUNS T7TH 84; HOMERUNS 1ST 32; HR/100 OUTS 1ST 9.28; HR/100 PA 1ST 6.10; HR/100 AB 1ST 6.93; RBI T7TH 88; AVERAGE 9TH .301; SLG 1ST .563; OBA 8TH .375; OPS 1ST .938; RUNS CREATED 7TH 95; RCAA 4TH 41; RCAP 5TH 33; OWP 4TH .734; RUNS CREATED/GAME 2ND 7.43; TOTAL BASES T7TH 260; EXTRA BASE HITS 4TH 56; ISOLATED POWER 1ST .262; SECONDARY AVERAGE 3RD .398; TOTAL AVERAGE 2ND .953; BPA 2ND .587

1975 NL STRIKEOUTS T5TH 109; GIDP T4TH 19





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