That Balls Outta Here
FanSided

Phillies Dick Allen a likely 2021 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee

By George Stockburger

PHILADELPHIA - OCTOBER 07: Dick Allen, former player for the Philadelphia Phillies throws out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Game One of the NLDS between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Colorado Rockies during the 2009 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park on October 7, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA - OCTOBER 07: Dick Allen, former player for the Philadelphia Phillies throws out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Game One of the NLDS between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Colorado Rockies during the 2009 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park on October 7, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

A place in Cooperstown could be set for a Phillies legend next summer

Phillies fans have been lucky to see three former players (Jim Thome, Pedro Martinez, and Roy Halladay) be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in the last decade, but none of them have gone in specifically as a Phillie.

The Hall of Fame hasn’t been friendly to former Phillies, but the Class of 2020 could be very special for the city of Philadelphia and one of the team’s legends.

Dick Allen has criminally been left out of the Baseball Hall of Fame after receiving just 3.7 percent of the writer’s vote in 1983 and never receiving more than 19 percent of the vote over 15 years of eligibility.

More from Phillies History

Decades after being denied baseball immortality, Allen’s opportunity to enter Cooperstown is likely to be renewed next winter when the Golden Era committee meets for the first time since 2014.

Allen fell one vote shy of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015 when the Golden Era committee was headlined by Allen’s late teammate Senator Jim Bunning and Hall of Fame executive Pat Gillick.

A seven-time All-Star, Allen’s numbers speak for themselves, and by most measures, he’s a Hall of Fame player. The righty slugged 351 home runs and is one of just 26 players who won both a Rookie of the Year and MVP.

According to Hall of Fame analytics such as Black Ink, Gray Ink, and the Hall of Fame monitor, Allen is well beyond the standards for a Hall of Famer.

While Allen’s career 58.7 WAR is short of an average Hall of Fame third baseman, it’s better than five Hall of Fame third basemen, most of whom played before Allen.

Allen’s career WAR, which is 200th all-time among thousands of players, is also superior to Hall of Famers from his era such as Willie Stargell and Tony Perez.

While Allen was an impact player on the diamond, he was also the first African American superstar in Phillies history, and he was a superstar in an era with Willie Mays and Hank Aaron.

Allen’s impact on society cannot be outweighed when you consider the history of the game.

In an MLB Network special on Allen, Willie McCovey called Allen “one of the best hitters he’s ever seen” and Mays noted Allen should be in the Hall of Fame.

God willing, Allen will be 78-years-old when the Golden Days Era committee votes on the Hall of Fame Class of 2021 in December 2020, and would be 79 by induction day. Should Allen be denied his day in Cooperstown once again, he would have to wait until the Class of 2025 for another opportunity for the Golden Era committee to vote.

Next. Phillies on the 2020 HOF ballot. dark

The time is now to see Dick Allen honored as a member of the Hall of Fame, and he should be a lock for the Class of 2021.

Home/Phillies History