Meritorious and (Maran)Villianous, if not Famous

Someone mentioned Doug Glanville the other day, but I want to talk about another Phillie.

The list of players in the Hall of Merit but not in the Hall of Fame includes some stylish players. Two of them are listed at third. The hot corner seems to be a hot spot for entertaining players. I may think that Graig Nettles was a prick, but he did his best Brooks Robinson impression in the post-season a few years after Brooks himself grabbed the limelight. Then there's Dick Allen.

If you follow the sabersphere at all, you know about how controversial a figure Allen was; even if you are too young to remember him. I'm in my 40s and I barely recall his playing career. When he was good, he was great and could hit the ball a country mile. You may see references online about him hitting a 529 foot home run on May 29, 1965. I checked the Hartford Courant and New York Times for the next day and they say 510 feet. While I think that the home run has become cheap in recent years (due to various factors, of which 'roids are only one), the long long ball is mighty entertaining. Bill Jenkinson wrote a book that was unfortunately titled The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs. Some folks think he was always biased towards Ruth, but growing up in southeastern Pennsylvania, he thought that Allen could hit the ball further than anyone. Whether Dick was a clubhouse cancer or not, and there are folks like Anthony Giacalone who disagree, the man could rake. I wish I could have seen him in BP.