Dick Allen completed his journey to baseball immortality on Sunday in Cooperstown, where he was posthumously inducted in the Hall of Fame alongside Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner and the late Dave Parker.
Allen was elected to the Hall via the Classic Baseball Era committee during the winter meetings in December, four years and one day after his death. He had fallen one vote short in the two previous committees, held in 2022 and 2015.
Willa Allen, delivering the acceptance speech in place of her late husband, kept her voice strong and steady for three-quarters of the speech, which covered the Allen she knew and the way he was touched by the teams he played for along the way.
Regarding the White Sox chapter of his career from 1972 to 1974, a stay that reenergized the franchise at a time where their existence was tenuous at best, she said:
"To the Chicago White Sox, Dick found a place where he could truly express himself, as a leader, as a teacher and as a fierce competitor. Chicago embraced him, not only for his talent, but for his heart. The love he felt from the South Side gave him strength to give 110 percent every game, and in return, he gave the fans one of the most iconic MVP seasons in baseball history."
But she began to choke up when she started talking about the Phillies, whose cap is featured on Allen's plaque.
The Phillies retired Dick Allen's No. 15 back in September 2020, breaking their longstanding unwritten policy of only retiring numbers for Hall of Famers. The ceremony required masking and social distancing and had no fans in attendance, but Allen only had a few months to live, so the Phillies did what they could.
He was in too poor of health to deliver the speech he had worked on, but he still managed to attend the ceremony and say a few words, which is the only time Willa Allen referenced the undertone of melancholy otherwise going unsaid.
"That day in Philadelphia meant everything to him and to our family," she said. "It was a moment we'll never forget, to see Dick recognized in that way while he was still alive."
As for what Allen said that day, it's covered in a Philadelpia Inquirer story published Sunday. It's a worthwhile read about Allen's relationship with the franchise and the city, which included Allen's off-the-cuff comments that still resonate with Phillies owner John Middleton:
“What I did not expect,” Middleton said as his voice began to break. “What I don’t think I could have ever anticipated is what Dick did for us that day.”
Allen said it was the “honor of a lifetime” and a day he would never forget.
“And he closed by saying, ‘I want to support the many great fans who supported me during my career. You always believed in me, and I am forever grateful. I hope that I proved I belonged,’” Middleton said. “So what Dick did in the five minutes he spoke was, he gave everyone absolution. He absolved us from what we did to not help him. He absolved the organization. He absolved the fans. He absolved the entire city.”
“He emerged from the sad place of his life as a baseball player, and he emerged with goodwill and peace. There was no recrimination, no bitterness, no vindictiveness, just love, forgiveness, and grace. And for me, that is the final word about Dick’s character.”
Spare Parts
Tyler Kepner walked around the Hall of Fame and noted the evolution of the plaques, from the stats and feats emphasized in descriptions to the cap choices to the nicknames. He picked up one thing I'd wondered in recent years: why shortened names started appearing in the line designated for nicknames, when they hadn't before. (Thomas Michael Glavine gets a "Tom," but George Thomas Seaver does not.)
That said, it makes sense that Allen's plaque confirms that he went by "Dick." That wasn't always understood.
While the idea of a White Sox reunion with Erick Fedde had some appeal, the Braves had the more immediate, pressing need for a starter after losing Grant Holmes to an elbow issue.
- Nick Kurtz becomes first rookie to hit four homers in a game, matches total base record -- AP
- Jac Caglianone lands on 10-day IL with hamstring strain -- MLB.com
Jac Caglianone, taken one pick after the White Sox selected Hagen Smith fifth overall in last year's draft, made it to the majors fast enough to trigger second-guessing, but he's hitting .147/.205/.280 over his first 41 MLB games, and now he's on the IL. Nick Kurtz didn't make it to the White Sox, as the Athletics snapped him up the pick before the Sox, so his mashing -- he's at .309/.378/.683 after his four-homer game in Houston -- can be appreciated without anguish.
One of the top starters who could've been moved at the deadline will stay put, solving one problem for a Royals team that intends to compete in 2026.
They used to be, at least as far back as 2017, but it'd be very funny if Rick Hahn and Kenny Williams based their friends-and-family strategy for recruiting Manny Machado without knowing there was a falling out.
