IS STOCKPILING DEFENSEMEN
Came across a few things as I was cleaning out the inbox:
Dick Allen has a spot on the Veterans Committee ballot this fall at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
The Hall of Fame writes, "Allen ... was known as one of the sport’s top right-handed power hitters of the 1960s and early 1970s. Allen played for the Philadelphia Phillies (1963-69, 1975-76), St. Louis Cardinals (1970), Los Angeles Dodgers (1971), Chicago White Sox (1972-74), and Oakland Athletics (1977). In 15 big league seasons, Allen clubbed 320 doubles, 79 triples and 351 home runs in 1,749 games. A third baseman and then a first baseman, Allen drove in 1,119 and scored 1,099 runs.
"In 1964, Allen was named NL Rookie of the Year with the Phillies after hitting .318 with 29 home runs, 91 RBIs and 201 hits.
"Allen earned 1972 MVP honors with the White Sox after leading the American League in home runs (37), RBIs (113), slugging percentage (.603) and walks (99). His .534 career slugging average was among the highest in an era marked by low averages. A seven time All-Star, Allen was a three-time league leader in slugging percentage and extra-base hits and twice in on-base percentage. He finished in the top five in slugging seven times and extra-base hits six times.
"Allen will be considered for the Class of 2009 at the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee as part of the post-1942 ballot (players who began their big league careers in 1943 or after). Other members of the post-1942 Veterans Committee final ballot are Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Tony Oliva, Al Oliver, Vada Pinson, Ron Santo, Luis Tiant, Joe Torre and Maury Wills. Any player receiving at least 75 percent of the vote from the Veterans Committee, which consists of the 64 living Hall of Famers, will be enshrined at the Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2009.
"Results from the Veterans Committee vote will be announced Dec. 8 at baseball’s Winter Meetings in Las Vegas."
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Check out this video blog from the parade last month.
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I forgot to link this a while back, but On the DL has a great podcast about the Phillies' championship run. ... Whiz Witout talks to yours truly.
Bob Brookover and Matt Gelb team up for their third straight season covering the Phillies for the Inquirer and philly.com.
This is Brookover’s second stint writing about the Phillies, having joined the coverage team after seven years as an Eagles beat writer. Brookover was hired by The Inquirer in 2000 as the Phillies beat writer after spending 13 years writing about the team for two suburban newspapers. While on the Eagles beat, Brookover, who had covered just two winning Phillies teams in 15 seasons, saw the Phillies move into a cash-cow new ballpark and begin playing a brand of the game he found unrecognizable. Follow him on Twitter here.
Gelb is in his third season covering the Phillies. He was hired by The Inquirer in August 2009 after graduating from Syracuse University. He has also covered baseball at The Star-Ledger and Cape Cod Times. Born and raised in Bucks County, he attended Central Bucks High School West. Follow him on Twitter here.
To submit a question for Matt Gelb's Phillies mailbag, click here.
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