OT: Useless Baseball Trivia for Today

[LionFan87b]

More men have walked on the moon than have scored an earned run against Mariano Rivera in the postseason.

 

[mrtailgate]

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There has been a LOT of excellent work done by the tireless Frog and it’s gaining steam. The advanced metrics really support him. A lot of local coverage lately including a radio broadcast featuring Dan Baker and The Bull interviewing him. I’m making my reservations in Cooperstown to welcome him in next summer ( I believe induction is scheduled for weekend of July 27th if memory is correct).

Here is a good older article on Allen from one of the MLB TV guys.

http://www.sportsonearth.com/articl...4yTipdh61wWObCfTxyA7o8hbLBQ0YIX8cjtq5tv6P0Few

 

[Fac]

I remember that game well.

When I was 8 I got to walk around the inside of Cleveland Municipal Stadium wearing my Little (minor) League uniform. It was a double header against the Detroit Tigers.
I also still have a bat from bat day at Cleveland from the mid 60's.

My boss once asked me what my most favorable baseball moment was. I answered that I had my first footlong hotdog at Municipal Stadium.

 

[psulongago]

A ton of us old timers have Richie (Dick) Allen as their favorite childhood player. Most of that generation know that Allen had 2 brothers who also appeared in the big leagues, Hank and Ron.

Ron Allen’s career was confined to one season, 1972, with the St Louis Cardinals. Ron had 11 career AB’s and managed one hit for a career average of .091. Fittingly, his one career hit was a Home Run.

Hard to believe that there are many if any players who managed one hit in the majors with that one hit being a Home Run. I did not google to see if others managed this interesting stat but I’m sure I’ll get around to it one day when I’m sitting around with nothing pressing to do.

I now return you to your regular scheduled programming.

Richie Allen was my favorite player as a kid and the best pure power hitter I ever saw in person. He would hit a rising, screaming liner toward shortstop that kept rising and clanged off the upper deck at Connie Mack or was it Shibe Park then. Would see him drinking at a restaurant in Pennsauken, I think, at the circle where several roads came together, liked the restaurant, can't remember the name. He belongs in the hall.

 

[The Spin Meister]

The Allen’s were the stars of the 1958 Wampum state champions basketball team, class B. They beat Columbia, Lancaster County Section 3.

They grew up in a terrible project north of Wampum. It is long gone.

Richie said he would sometimes intentionally strike out early in a game if no one was on base and look bad doing so. He figured later, at a critical point and runners on base, the pitcher would throw the same pitch....thinking it was a good pitch.

 

[PSUcup1]

Richie Allen was my favorite player as a kid and the best pure power hitter I ever saw in person. He would hit a rising, screaming liner toward shortstop that kept rising and clanged off the upper deck at Connie Mack or was it Shibe Park then. Would see him drinking at a restaurant in Pennsauken, I think, at the circle where several roads came together, liked the restaurant, can't remember the name. He belongs in the hall.

the Jughandle?

Allen has a career 156 OPS+ … 19th all time

certainly worthy of serious HOF consideration, especially considering Harold Baines made it

 

[BobPSU92]

Great thread. I love baseball trivia.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

Would see him drinking at a restaurant in Pennsauken, I think, at the circle where several roads came together, liked the restaurant, can't remember the name.

hmm, I'm wondering what restaurant you're referencing. Pennsauken has the famous/infamous Airport Circle (first traffic circle in the US), though it's been modified a great deal over the years.

there used to be a circle at Browning Road, but that hasn't been there for quite some time.

 

[lj4heisman1]

Love Connie Mack stadium broad and Lehigh used to go to games with my dad Park on the street he would paythe local kids a couple bucks to “watch his car”

Richie allen was by far my faviorite player remember him hitting one or 2 5 feet over the ballantine ale sign right on out of the park

 

[bvillebaron]

For whatever reason, a #17 baseball jersey always reminds me of Andy Messersmith

Anyone remember when Turner signed Messersmith and gave him No 47 and gave all the players nicknames on the back of their uniforms? Gave Andy the nickname Channel because 47 was the channel number for his superstation in Atlanta. Kuhn quickly put an end to that. Nevertheless, Ted was quite a character!
There was also the time he said the team was so bad he could manage it and sure enough he went in the dugout until Kuhn put the kibosh on that too Suspended him for several games too as I recall.

 

[mrtailgate]

Richie Allen was my favorite player as a kid and the best pure power hitter I ever saw in person. He would hit a rising, screaming liner toward shortstop that kept rising and clanged off the upper deck at Connie Mack or was it Shibe Park then. Would see him drinking at a restaurant in Pennsauken, I think, at the circle where several roads came together, liked the restaurant, can't remember the name. He belongs in the hall.

There are many stats that point to Allen as one of the top power hitters who has ever played the game. He is ranked behind only Ruth, Mantle, and Foxx. I believe he has 10 home runs believed to be in excess of 500 feet. Another player that you have to be old enough to remember playing was Frank Howard who rounds out the top five power hitters of all time on some lists. Howard was fearsome because of his height and build. McCovey was tall and lean but Howard looked like a lumberjack

It was said of Foxx v. Ruth, that Ruth hit them hard are far, Foxx hit them harder and further.

 

[mrtailgate]

Love Connie Mack stadium broad and Lehigh used to go to games with my dad Park on the street he would paythe local kids a couple bucks to “watch his car”

Richie allen was by far my faviorite player remember him hitting one or 2 5 feet over the ballantine ale sign right on out of the park

I remember him distinctly hitting one into the netting over the bullpen in CF at Connie Mack one game I saw.

 

[mrtailgate]

Richie Allen was my favorite player as a kid and the best pure power hitter I ever saw in person. He would hit a rising, screaming liner toward shortstop that kept rising and clanged off the upper deck at Connie Mack or was it Shibe Park then. Would see him drinking at a restaurant in Pennsauken, I think, at the circle where several roads came together, liked the restaurant, can't remember the name. He belongs in the hall.

There is a great drinking story of Allen and Jim Ray Hart in the minor leagues.

 

[The Song Remains the Same]

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Thanks for posting this. He was my favorite player as a kid growing up in Central PA.

 

[ILLINOISLION]

Speaking of great brother combinations, how about the Alou family - Felipe, Matty and Jesus. They once played together in the same OF at the same time. Doubt we will ever see that again.

We will NEVER see that again.....they are way way way WAY too old!

 

[Tom McAndrew]

We will NEVER see that again.....they are way way way WAY too old!

Bud Abbott: Oh, I’ll tell you their names, but you know it seems to me they give these ball players now-a-days very peculiar names.

Lou Costello: You mean funny names?

Bud Abbott: Strange names, pet names … like Dizzy Dean…

Lou Costello: His brother Daffy.

Bud Abbott: Daffy Dean…

Lou Costello: And their French cousin.

Bud Abbott: French?

Lou Costello: Goofé.

Bud Abbott: Goofé Dean. Dean. Well, let’s see, we have on the bags, Who’s on first, What’s on second, I Don’t Know is on third…

Lou Costello: That’s what I want to find out.

 

[kgilbert78]

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He should. He was one of the greats.

 

[kgilbert78]

There are many stats that point to Allen as one of the top power hitters who has ever played the game. He is ranked behind only Ruth, Mantle, and Foxx. I believe he has 10 home runs believed to be in excess of 500 feet. Another player that you have to be old enough to remember playing was Frank Howard who rounds out the top five power hitters of all time on some lists. Howard was fearsome because of his height and build. McCovey was tall and lean but Howard looked like a lumberjack

It was said of Foxx v. Ruth, that Ruth hit them hard are far, Foxx hit them harder and further.

A buddy of mine (who passed a couple of years ago) played basketball with him (Howard) in HS. What most folks do not know is that Howard was an All-American in college--in basketball.

 

[olelion]

Since 1950, six players with at least 10 letters in their last names have hit 40 or more home runs in a season. The most recent are Edwin Encarnacion and Curtis Granderson. Who are the other four? (Hint: They're all between 1953 and 1970.)

Ted Kluszewski