Best power hitter I ever saw in person. Would hit a low liner soaring over the shortstops head rising to clang off the upper deck. He used to hang at the PUB in Pennsauken, I think that's the name and place.
Richie Allen finally makes it
- Thread starter psulongago
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I was never a fan. The guy was reportedly a bad teammate who would drink before games and refuse to practice. Certainly a great talent but too much baggage.
Dave Parker also in via the same vote. Two guys who were somewhat similar. Played their best ball in PA.
- Cantakerous Personalities......
- Wickedly talented.......
- When they were on.....they were as good as anybody playing.
Both deservedly put into the Hall.
Parker was a very good hitter for average, for power, but when combined with his defensive play and his arm strength....he really should have been in years ago.
My opinion.....Rock and Roll hall of fame is letting in too many bands/individuals a year....we are running out of warranted performers and Baseball Hall of Fame is too stingy with their Hall of Fame process.
- Cantakerous Personalities......
- Wickedly talented.......
- When they were on.....they were as good as anybody playing.
Both deservedly put into the Hall.
Parker was a very good hitter for average, for power, but when combined with his defensive play and his arm strength....he really should have been in years ago.
My opinion.....Rock and Roll hall of fame is letting in too many bands/individuals a year....we are running out of warranted performers and Baseball Hall of Fame is too stingy with their Hall of Fame process.
Too bad it was so late. Nonetheless, certainly deserving.
Can't remember the managers name at the time, but recall one year he gave Allen the rest of the year off with 15-20 games remaining since they had no chance of winning the pennant. Of course Allen obliged and disappeared. Really bad for team spirit.
If you are too lazy to play baseball, you don't belong in the HOF. Peter Rose went to his grave w/o getting in, pathetic.
If you are too lazy to play baseball, you don't belong in the HOF. Peter Rose went to his grave w/o getting in, pathetic.
As a kid, I thought Parker was tremendous, and for a brief period of time, the best player in baseball, but his actions with drugs ruins the HOF for me. It's one thing to jeopardize your health and your own career doing drugs, but to facilitate drug usage for ballplayers in the National League and jeopardizing their health and careers. How does that not harm the game itself as well?
Allen from Wampum, PA where he was a key part of championship Wampum Basketball teams under Butler Hennon.
pittsburghquarterly.com
When Wampum High School was Small Yet Big
When Wampum High School was Small Yet Big - Pittsburgh Quarterly
In the well-trod regions of the sportswriting firmament, there is a progression in cliches used to describe successful coaches. It starts with “winning” and escalates to “renowned” and culminates with — ultima gloria — “legendary.” With justification, sportswriters in Lawrence County, which...
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Allen could have been an all timer. 5 tool infielders are not that common. Instead he was just a great player, who was difficult, lazy, out of shape, etc. I still remember him missing a bunch of games claiming he severely cut his hand while changing his car headlight. When he came back he was Dick Allen.
Nah - they need to kick quite a few out who don’t belong. You could start with a lot of Frankie Frisch’s cronies who got in via the Veterans’ Committee.
Parker’s average season: 84 runs; 178 hits; 22 homers; 98 rbi; 10 stolen bases; .290
average; 101 strikeouts; 45 walks and a 2.6 WAR. The guy played in 19 seasons and hit 339 homers. He also wasn’t a great fielder. Very good player, but Hall worthy? Only by today’s diluted standards.
It’s funny that some people still obsess over BA - totally ignoring the stat revolution and far better valuations of offense like OPS.
He’s not the worst HOF ever - not by a long shot - but you’re right about dilution of the Hall
Parker was the best player in baseball from 1977 to 1979, and had a very good resurrection in Cincy and Oakland in the mid to late 80s. If he hadn't been a drug user and injured his knee in 1980, he probably would've been the best player in baseball for the better part of a decade; once he got cleaned up, he actually became a good veteran presence on the Bash Brothers teams.
I had the privilege of seeing him play in person for a lot of his games from the mid 70s to early 80s at TRS; I even have a photo of him and me that was taken during the Pirates' Picture Day in 1976 when I only was 9 years old. I'm very happy for him, and just hope that his heath, which isn't good, permits him to attend the ceremony.
Maybe slight edge on Schmidt in that very smsll time frame due to Schmidt having his hand broken by a Bruce Kison pitch in 78 I believe which brought some seasonal numbers down, but Schmidt was a far superior all around player at a much more important position both before that tiny window and after. Far more productive hitter if you go by more accurate metrics like OPS and miles beyond Parker as a defender.
So many people don’t realize how freakin good Mike Schmidt was. I mean - he’s in the top 30 ish pantheon. A true Hall of Fame Inner Circle position player
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I’m not a total modern stat dork, but raw batting average has taken a tumble when people assess how valuable and impactful a batter is. At the extreme, a guy can have a .350 average where he gets 35 singles in 100ABs. Awesome BA, but the key to winning games is run production. That’s where OBP, slugging %, OPS come into play. In the hypo above, compare that to a hitter who, in 100 plate appearances, hits 25 doubles in 90 at bats (.277 BA) and walks 10 times (walks not counting in BA). The latter player is far more productive in run creation.
Modern baseball scouts are far more interested in the batter productivity numbers than a simplistic stat like BA. In the same vein, they look at things like WHIP and ERA as being far more valuable than W-L for pitchers. A pitcher for the Yankees with great run support might have a 4.50 ERa but be 11-5. Wow - good record!!! Well, you’ve got a poor guy pitching for the White Sox with a 2.88 ERA but he’s 8-7 because his team stinks. AS a GM, I’m seeing right through Pitcher A’s W-L record.
Anyway, BA is the only chink in Schmitty’s armor. He is a top 20 position player in Career WAR - measuring overall prowess - up there with the true greats. Black and Grey Ink season totals all over the place. I know Parker may be your childhood baseball hero, but let’s not be silly here.
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Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Mike Schmidt. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
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I’m just pointing out Parker’s unique skills, not disparaging Schmidt. How many multi batting champions have 339 career homeruns? Besides, WAR is fuzzy math.I’m not a total modern stat dork, but raw batting average has taken a tumble when people assess how valuable and impactful a batter is. At the extreme, a guy can have a .350 average where he gets 35 singles in 100ABs. Awesome BA, but the key to winning games is run production. That’s where OBP, slugging %, OPS come into play. In the hypo above, compare that to a hitter who, in 100 plate appearances, hits 25 doubles in 90 at bats (.277 BA) and walks 10 times (walks not counting in BA). The latter player is far more productive in run creation.
Modern baseball scouts are far more interested in the batter productivity numbers than a simplistic stat like BA. In the same vein, they look at things like WHIP and ERA as being far more valuable than W-L for pitchers. A pitcher for the Yankees with great run support might have a 4.50 ERa but be 11-5. Wow - good record!!! Well, you’ve got a poor guy pitching for the White Sox with a 2.88 ERA but he’s 8-7 because his team stinks. AS a GM, I’m seeing right through Pitcher A’s W-L record.
Anyway, BA is the only chink in Schmitty’s armor. He is a top 20 position player in Career WAR - measuring overall prowess - up there with the true greats. Black and Grey Ink season totals all over the place. I know Parker may be your childhood baseball hero, but let’s not be silly here.
Mike Schmidt Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com
Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Mike Schmidt. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
Dave Parker Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com
Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Dave Parker. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
Point taken. Honestly, I love things like WHIP and OPS, OPS+, but you are right about the fuzzy math for some of these advanced metrics. I lurk on this Atlanta Braves board and they kept talking about “ barrel rates” and how they were getting robbed of wins because other teams were getting lucky. I mean, after a while, you are what your record is.
I think we can agree that we grew up in the golden age of baseball. Great personalities, swagger. Even the all-star games were tense but we had the Big Red Machine, the lumber Company, the great Dodger players, Schmidt and Co to dominate the AL
Being the guy that knows a guy isn't the say as hooking players on coke. The guys the wanted coke already were coming into town looking for coke. Not a great look but not the same as being a drug kingpin either.As a kid, I thought Parker was tremendous, and for a brief period of time, the best player in baseball, but his actions with drugs ruins the HOF for me. It's one thing to jeopardize your health and your own career doing drugs, but to facilitate drug usage for ballplayers in the National League and jeopardizing their health and careers. How does that not harm the game itself as well?
They took a relatively small amount of cocaine transactions and turned it into a media show.
I was agreeing with you generally and also pointing out how others (not you) place too much emphasis on raw BA when there are way better offensive metrics. I just tend to switch topics quickly.
OBP and slugging (and, by extension, OPS) are far more important as I think you’d agree.
None of those newer numbers show actual run production. They treat how a batter performs with bases empty as a batter does with runner(s) on.
I’d agree ERA is important for a starting pitcher. The WHIP stat is another new stat that does measure actual run avoidance (? or whatever term is applicable).
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