Allen had been among the best hitters in baseball for years,
but carried a lot of baggage. He was injury prone, he was trouble in the clubhouse and he had no defensive position. His stock was falling badly; his first team, the Phillies, sent him to the Cardinals, where he spent
one year. The Cardinals then sent him to the Dodgers, where he again
lasted only one year. The Dodgers then shipped him to Chicago.
But Holy Cow, what a hitter. Even when
his team was sick of him and the fans were booing him, Allen was an
awesome hitter. A good argument can be made that Allen was the National League's best
hitter of the 1960's, in a league that included Aaron, Mays, Robinson
and Clemente. Allen could hit with anyone, but he was the Rogers Hornsby
of his era, a guy whom you're glad to have on your team as long as he doesn't
hang around too long.
This year was Dick's first in the AL. Chicago's
manager, Chuck Tanner, allowed Allen to do things his own way. This appealed
greatly to Allen, and he responded with a huge season. The magic didn't last
long, though, as he missed half of 1973 with injury. Allen led the league in
homers again in 1974, despite retiring in August to look after his racehorses.
He was back in Philadelphia the next year, and soon retired for good.
Joe Rudi was runner-up in the vote; I would put Bobby Murcer ahead
of Rudi, then keep Rudi in the third spot. If you look closely enough, you
will see that most good teams have a Joe Rudi playing for them. He wasn't
the best player on the Athletics, nor was he their best outfielder (Reggie
Jackson was). He didn't have great power or speed; he didn't drive in a
lot of runs or get on base a lot. But he was a solid player, hit .300 on
a pair of occasions, played solid defense, led the AL in doubles one year,
in triples another, once led the league in hits. He was an All-Star three
times. He was a regular for only six seasons, but three times the Oakland
Athletics won the World Series, and Rudi played a large part in their
success.
Carlton Fisk won the Rookie Of The Year Award. I
think he was clearly the best infielder in the league. Bobby Grich played shortstop and several other positions while waiting for the
Orioles to trade Davey Johnson. They did, and Grich won Gold Gloves
at second base for the next four years.
The Oakland Athletics won the World Series
this year, their first in Oakland, and the franchise's first since 1930. One
of their key players was Bert Campaneris, the shortstop. Dagoberto "Campy"
Campaneris played for 19 years in the majors; he began his career with the
dreadful Kansas City Athletics, but the team around him improved mightily after
moving to the West Coast. Campaneris was not much of a hitter, but he could
run and field. He stole 649 career bases, and led the league in that category
six times. He also lasted long enough to pound out over 2200 hits in his
career. Like Rudi, Campaneris was not a great player, but he was good and durable,
and has three World Series rings to prove it.
