On Sunday night, late Philadelphia Phillies legend Dick Allen once again fell just short of making the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Four MLB greats learned that they would officially be enshrined, and all four are deserving choices.
Gil Hodges, a fearsome slugger at first base with eight All-Star nods and a great glove to boot.
Jim Kaat, a near 300-game winner but perhaps known even more for his fielding prowess from the mound.
Minnie Minoso, a consistent and versatile star whose career spanned not two, not three, but five decades.
Tony Oliva, a hitting machine with reliable offensive production throughout his career in Minnesota.
And perhaps more deserving than any of them, at least according to certain metrics, is longtime Phillies star Dick Allen. But instead of joining his Golden Days Era peers, he's on the outside looking in once more.
Exactly as in 2014 — 11 of the 16 members of the Golden Days Era Committee voted for Allen. He needed 12 votes to be inducted — and that's exactly the number that Hodges, Kaat and Oliva got. Minoso, meanwhile, earned 14 out of the 16 votes. No other player on the ballot received even three votes.
But it's all the same: Allen's time has not yet come, and fans are not happy about it.
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Allen finished his career with 351 home runs, 1,119 RBI and a .292/.378/.534 slash line. His career OPS of .912 is higher than names like Mike Schmidt, Ken Griffey Jr., Willie McCovey, Willie Stargell and several other Hall of Fame greats. In 1972, he took home the MVP Award with the Chicago White Sox and registered a 199 adjusted OPS+, a stat in which he ranks at No. 23 all-time (via Stathead).
| Rk | Player | OPS+ | PA | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Babe Ruth | 206 | 10626 | 1.164 |
| 2 | Ted Williams | 191 | 9792 | 1.116 |
| 3 | Oscar Charleston | 184 | 3920 | 1.063 |
| 4 | Barry Bonds | 182 | 12606 | 1.051 |
| 5 | Lou Gehrig | 179 | 9665 | 1.080 |
| 6 | Turkey Stearnes | 177 | 4281 | 1.034 |
| 7 | Mike Trout | 176 | 5660 | 1.002 |
| 8 | Rogers Hornsby | 175 | 9481 | 1.010 |
| 9 | Mickey Mantle | 172 | 9910 | .977 |
| 10 | Mule Suttles | 172 | 3651 | 1.028 |
| 11 | Dan Brouthers | 171 | 7691 | .943 |
| 12 | Shoeless Joe Jackson | 170 | 5697 | .940 |
| 13 | Ty Cobb | 168 | 13103 | .944 |
| 14 | Mark McGwire | 163 | 7660 | .982 |
| 15 | Jimmie Foxx | 163 | 9677 | 1.038 |
| 16 | Pete Browning | 163 | 5315 | .869 |
| 17 | Dave Orr | 162 | 3411 | .867 |
| 18 | Stan Musial | 159 | 12721 | .976 |
| 19 | Hank Greenberg | 159 | 6098 | 1.017 |
| 20 | Johnny Mize | 158 | 7372 | .959 |
| 21 | Tris Speaker | 158 | 12020 | .928 |
| 22 | Frank Thomas | 156 | 10075 | .974 |
| 23 | Dick Allen | 156 | 7315 | .912 |
| 24 | Henry Aaron | 155 | 13941 | .928 |
| 25 | Willie Mays | 155 | 12545 | .940 |
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