Phillies: Four former players who belong in the Hall of Fame

By George Stockburger | May 19, 2020

COOPERSTOWN, NY - JULY 29: 38 members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, along with board members and state senators cut a ribbon during a rededication ceremony at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on July 29, 2005 in Cooperstown, New York. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

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PHILADELPHIA – AUGUST 10: Phillies Alumni Dick Allen stands on the field during a pre game ceremony before a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on August 10, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 7-6. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

PHILADELPHIA – AUGUST 10: Phillies Alumni Dick Allen stands on the field during a pre game ceremony before a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on August 10, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 7-6. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /

Dick Allen

Perhaps the most likely to get into the Hall of Fame and the most argued case in recent Phillies history is Dick Allen, who will be up for the Class of 2021 when the Golden Era Committee votes in December 2020.

Allen, who hit 351 career home runs, won the 1972 American League MVP in Chicago, made the All-Star team seven times, won the 1964 National League Rookie of the Year award as a member of the Phillies, and finished in the top 10 in MVP voting three times.

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In 15 seasons Allen hit .292 with a .378 on-base percentage, .534 slugging percentage and led the league in offensive categories 19 times.

Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic (subscription required) looked at Allen’s Hall of Fame case in a series called “Snubbed” which broke down which Hall of Fame-caliber players are still on the outside looking in.

Montemurro talked to FanGraphs senior writer and sabermetrician Jay Jaffe about Allen’s Hall of Fame credentials.

"“The way I look at it is this: Dick Allen was very clearly a Hall of Fame-caliber player,” FanGraphs senior writer and sabermetrician Jay Jaffe said. “During that 11-year period where he was most active, he was almost invariably one of the top bats in the league. When he played, he was fantastic. … The problems that sidelined him, besides the injuries, I don’t think you could put the whole weight of those problems on him in a good-faith way."

Allen’s 45.9 7yr-peak WAR is well-beyond the average for a Hall of Fame third baseman at 43.1, and his career 58.8 WAR is better than six other Hall of Fame third basemen, but most of them played in the Deadball Era.

There aren’t a ton of “great” Hall of Fame third basemen, especially if you don’t count Edgar Martinez and Paul Molitor as third basemen and you look at them as a DH. If you take those two out the next modern HOF third basemen in terms of WAR is Brooks Robinson, whose WAR is 20 points higher than Allen’s.

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.

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Allen is third among all Phillies hitters with a .530 slugging percentage, seventh in WAR, and 10th in home runs. If he is inducted into the Hall of Fame there will be discussions about whether his number 15 should be retired. We rated Allen as the greatest Phillies player to wear #15 with no other notable player aside from Dave Hollins wearing it after Allen.

The Phillies would likely honor Allen by retiring #15, extending the precedent of retiring the numbers of a Hall of Fame player who played significant time in Philadelphia. The question of whether a potential non-Hall of Famer like Jimmy Rollins (the franchise hits leader) getting his number retired will remain. There will also be questions if Curt Schilling (#38) or Scott Rolen (#17 now worn by Rhys Hoskins) have their numbers retired.

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