Dick Allen and Roger Moret are inexorably linked in two ways.
On August 21, 1974, Moret probably pitched the finest game of his career throwing a complete game one-hitter for the Boston Red Sox against the Chicago White Sox. The lone hit Moret surrendered came off the bat of Allen.
Now, today, December 7, 2020, Allen and Moret are united in death. Both men passed away of cancer today aged 78 and 71, respectively.
Allen, a native of Wampum, Pennsyvlania, was the better known of the two former players. He would sign with the Philadelphia Phillies right out of high school in 1960 and would make his MLB debut late in the 1963 season. Allen would win NL Rookie of the Year in 1964 hitting .318 with 29 HR and 91 RBI and leading the league in both runs scored (125) and triples (13). Unfortunately, this was the same year the Phillies collapsed down the stretch with Allen bearing much of the blame despite remaining a productive hitter.
Phillies fans hurled abuse and racial epithets at Allen for the remainder of his tenure in Philly despite being named to three NL All-Star Teams. Allen had to take to wearing a helmet when he played defense because Phillies fans regularly threw hard objects like batteries and glass bottles in his general direction. The team insisted on calling him Richie when he preferred Dick.
The Phillies would trade Allen to the St. Louis Cardinals prior to the 1970 season in a nine player deal. One of the players Allen was dealt for was Curt Flood who infamously refused to play with the Phillies given the kind of treatment Allen had received during his years in the City of Brotherly Love. Despite a 101 RBI season with the Cardinals, St. Louis would trade him to the Los Angeles Dodgers prior to the 1971 season for Ted Sizemore and Bob Stinson. Allen only lasted one season in L.A. when he was again traded to the Chicago White Sox in a deal for pitcher Tommy John.
On the South Side of Chicago, Allen found an understanding manager in Chuck Tanner who got out of his way and let him play ball. Allen rewarded Tanner and the White Sox with his finest season of his career leading the AL in HR (37), RBIs (113), walks (99), OBP (.420), SLG (.603) and OPS (1.023) en route to the 1972 AL MVP. Although a broken leg would limit him to 72 games in 1973 he did hit 16 HR and 41 RBI in only 250 at bats. Allen would lead the AL in HRs again in 1974 with 32. In all three seasons with the Chisox, Allen was named to the AL All-Star Team.
Allen was traded to the Atlanta Braves prior to the 1975 season, but never wore a Braves uniform as he opted to retire. But a few months later, the Phillies persuaded him to come out of retirement. This time around, Phillies fans loved Allen although he continued to wear his helmet on the field. After two seasons in Philly, Allen finished his career with the Oakland A's in 1977.
In 15 big league seasons, Allen collected 1848 hits for a lifetime batting average of .292 with 351 HR and 1119 RBI. Allen would never receive more than 20% of the vote on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot falling off it in 1997. In 2014, both Allen and Tony Oliva came within a single vote of being enshrined into Cooperstown. The Golden Days Committee had been scheduled to vote this year, but the vote was delayed due to COVID-19. There's a very good chance that Allen will be enshrined to Cooperstown posthumously next year. At least the Phillies retired Allen's number this past September in what proved to be his final public appearance.
Rogelio "Roger" Moret will not be inducted into any Hall of Fame. But the Puerto Rican born pitcher had his moments. Signed by the Boston Red Sox in 1968, he would make his big league debut three days before his 21st birthday late in 1970. Moret pitched for the Bosox in parts of six seasons. His finest came in 1975 when the Red Sox won the AL pennant. While Moret is considered an afterthought on that team he was an effective spot starter and long man going 14-3 with a 3.60 ERA in 145 innings pitched. Moret earned a win in relief in the ALCS against the Oakland A's and pitched in three World Series games including a scoreless inning in relief of Luis Tiant in Game 6.
But the Red Sox would ship Moret off to the Atlanta Braves prior to the 1976 season. Soon after Moret started exhibiting bizarre, occasionally violent behavior such as when he pulled a gun on teammate and fellow countryman Willie Montanez. The Braves would trade Moret to the Texas Rangers in a multi-player deal for former AL MVP Jeff Burroughs. Moret spent two seasons in Texas. Towards the end of his career, prior to a start, Moret was found in a catatonic state in the locker room and had to be hospitalized.
It's too bad that Moret couldn't have met up with Chuck Tanner and the 1979 "We Are Famalee" Pittsburgh Pirates. He might have fit in with that captain and crew, but baseball didn't know how to deal with mental illness as he would later be diagnosed with schizophrenia. But it was not to be. Moret was given an invite to spring training by the Cleveland Indians in 1980 but nothing would come of it. In nine big league seasons, Moret made 168 appearances (82 starts, 86 in relief) with a record of 47-27 and a 3.66 ERA.
By 1987, Moret was serving time in a half way house on a drug possession charge in Puerto Rico with all his baseball money gone. Although by 2014, Moret appeared to have made peace with himself and had even been invited back to Fenway Park to sign autographs.
Perhaps Allen and Moret will find contentment on the field of dreams. R.I.P.
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