| Neil Allen | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Allen with the Minnesota Twins in 2017 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1958-01-24)January 24, 1958 (age 67) Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 15, 1979, for the New York Mets | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 19, 1989, for the Cleveland Indians | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 58–70 |
| Earned run average | 3.88 |
| Strikeouts | 611 |
| Saves | 75 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
As player
As coach | |
Neil Patrick Allen (born January 24, 1958) is an American former professional baseballpitcher andcoach. He played for theNew York Mets,St. Louis Cardinals,New York Yankees,Chicago White Sox, andCleveland Indians ofMajor League Baseball from 1979 to 1989.
TheNew York Mets drafted Allen out ofBishop Ward High School inKansas City, Kansas, in the eleventh round of the1976 Major League Baseball draft. He went 10–2 with a 2.79earned run average and led theCarolina League with 126strikeouts with theLynchburg Mets in his second professional season.
Allen came up with the Mets as astarting pitcher in 1979, and he made his major league debut on April 15 against thePhiladelphia Phillies and former MetNino Espinosa, giving up threeruns in sixinnings and taking the loss.[1] Allen was 0-5 as a starter when the Mets moved him to thebullpen. He won his next four decisions in a row as areliever, and on July 28, he earned his first major leaguesave.[2]
Soon Allen emerged as the club'scloser, earning eight saves by the end of the season and 69 total in his Mets career. In May 1981, the Mets reached a deal to acquireEllis Valentine from theMontreal Expos forDan Norman and either Allen orJeff Reardon. Unwilling to part with their closer, the Mets sent Reardon to the Expos.[3]
With Allen's record standing at 0–4 with a 5.68 ERA and a .301batting average against early in the 1983 season, the Mets made the decision to convert Allen back into a starter. Allen won his first two decisions, including ashutout of theLos Angeles Dodgers.[4] Two weeks later, on June 15, he andRick Ownbey were traded to theSt. Louis Cardinals forKeith Hernandez.[5]
Allen's first start as a Cardinal came against the Mets atShea Stadium. He held the Mets to fourhits with sixstrikeouts (2 of Hernandez) over eight innings, and drove in one of the Cardinals' six runs.[6] His second win for the Cards also came against his former club. This time, he held them to one run over seven innings. He also had anRBIdouble, and scored a run in the second inning.[7] All told, he went 3–0 with a 0.87 ERA against the Mets in 1983.[8] Against the rest of theNational League, he was 9–13 with a 4.76 ERA.
In 1984, he was returned to the bullpen, making only one emergency start.[9] Allen was 1–4 with a 5.59earned run average, and began incurring the wrath of Cardinals fans.[10] On July 16, 1985 he was sold to theNew York Yankees. Allen was 1–0 with one save and a 2.76 ERA out of the Yankees' bullpen.[11]
Following the '85 season, Allen was traded to theChicago White Sox withScott Bradley and Glenn Braxton forRon Hassey,Matt Winters, Chris Alvarez and Eric Schmidt. The White Sox converted him back to a starter, and he earned his first win of the season againstRon Guidry atYankee Stadium on May 15. Allen gave up only one earned run, four hits and twowalks in seven innings for the first White Sox victory over Guidry at Yankee Stadium since August 13, 1980.[12]
His next start at Yankee Stadium was even better. On July 20, Allen pitched a complete game two hitter to lead the White Sox to an 8–0 victory over the Yankees.[13] For the season, Allen went 7–2 with a 3.82 ERA.
The White Sox released Allen during the 1987 season after he posted an 0–7 record and 7.07 ERA. He signed with the Yankees for the remainder of the season, and returned again for 1988. He signed a minor league deal with theCleveland Indians in 1989, making three appearances for the big league club. He pitched for theCincinnati Reds' AAA affiliate, theNashville Sounds in 1990 before retiring.
| Seasons | W | L | Pct. | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | K | WP | HBP | BAA | Fld% | Avg. | SH |
| 11 | 58 | 70 | .453 | 3.88 | 434 | 59 | 7 | 6 | 75 | 988.1 | 985 | 426 | 464 | 73 | 417 | 611 | 39 | 9 | .264 | .980 | .130 | 11 |
Allen was an above average fielding pitcher. He did not commit anerror from 1983 to 1986.
Allen began coaching shortly after his retirement. After a brief stint in the independentTexas–Louisiana League as pitching coach with the Mobile BaySharks, Allen joined theToronto Blue Jays in 1996 as pitching coach of theirNew York–Penn League affiliate, theSt. Catharines Stompers.
After four seasons with the Jays' organization, Allen returned to the Yankees in 2000 as pitching coach of theStaten Island Yankees. He was pitching coach for theColumbus Clippers from 2003 to 2004, and returned to that position again in 2006 after serving as the bullpen pitching coach for the New York Yankees during the 2005 season. Allen, while the Columbus Clippers pitching coach, introducedChien-Ming Wang's sinker, which became his signature pitch.[14]
In 2007, he joined the Rays' organization, working in their minor league system with his final stop as the pitching coach for theDurham Bulls.[15]
In November 2014, the Minnesota Twins hired him as their major league pitching coach.[16]
On May 26, 2016, Allen was booked into Hennepin County jail on suspicion ofdriving under the influence and suspended indefinitely by the Twins.[17] After he completed a five-week outpatient treatment program at theHazelden Betty Ford Foundation that the team had checked him in to, the Twins brought him back in early July.[18]
At the end of the 2017 season, Allen retired from his coaching career, and did not return to the Twins in 2018.
, orThe Ultimate Mets Database