Former Phillies, White Sox Star Dick Allen Dies at Age 78

Former MLB star Dick Allen died Monday at the age of 78, as announced on his personal Twitter account:

The Philadelphia Phillies also released a statement on Allen's passing:

Allen played nine seasons with the Phillies, also spending time with the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals and Oakland Athletics over his 15-year major league career. In that time, he won the 1972 AL MVP Award, 1964 NL Rookie of the Year Award and earned seven All-Star selections.

The impressive career also included 1,848 hits and 351 home runs, twice leading the league in homers.

His offensive production is among the best in baseball history, ranking 19th all-time with a 156 OPS+.

Despite his success on the field, he was not inducted into the Hall of Fame, never getting more than 20 percent of the vote from the BBWAA in 14 years on the ballot and falling well short of the 75 percent needed for inclusion.

Allen also faced significant backlash during his playing career from 1963-77, including criticism from fans and the press while notably getting in a fight with teammate Frank Thomas, as detailed by Andrew B. Distler of The Undefeated.

The Golden Era Veterans Committee was set to vote on his Hall of Fame inclusion Sunday, but it was delayed due to COVID-19, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.