| Message | Without question, Allen from 1964 - 1967 (August 1967 slashed hand injury) was the premier offensive player in the National League. At that point he was the equal or superior of Aaron, Clemente, Mays, Santo, Williams, Carty, etc...This may sound hard to believe, but for all the cracks Bill James makes in his Win Shares bible about Allen, the OBJECTIVE statistical evidence James gathers absolutely supports Allen for the HOF. Re this same book, in his Al Rosen comments, James lists the five greatest seasons ever by 3B and erroneously omits Allen's 41 Win Shares in 1964. Further, in the Fred Lynn comments, he calls Lynn's rookie season the greatest debut by a non-HOFer. Not true, again Allen's 41 win shares in 1964 are far greater than Lynn's total in 1975. I can't say enough about his batting talents - he was Sheffield with a 40-ounce bat and similar to Manny Ramirez as a pure RH hitter superior to his peers. And his baserunning was the equal of anyone in his era!! |