but just 12 nods from friends of Reinsdorf and LaRussa is sufficient.
I didn't see Allen play, so I can't comment on him - maybe he was disliked enough to be shorted on the ballots of the writers.
But I watched Parker - he was a nice player with some strong seasons, but not one of the best ever.
I think the new Veterans Committee has committed many more wrongs than they have righted (if they righted any) in electing:
2024 - Allen and Parker
2023 - Fred McGriff
2022 - Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso, Tony Oliva. Bud Fowler, Buck O’Neil
2021 - none
2020 - Marvin Miller, Ted Simmons
2019 - Lee Smith, Harold Baines.
2018 - Jack Morris, Alan Trammell
a low to mid level HOFer. Their JAWS ratings put him as the 17th best 3rd baseman, and, coincidentally, there are 17 3rd basemen in the Hall. The Black Ink, Gray Ink, and Hall of Fame monitor puts him at about an average HOFer. I did see him play. He was no great shakes on defense, and, I would say, was an Albert Belle type of a hitter. And yeah, the writers hated him. As for Parker, I pretty much agree with your take.
If so, it'll be interesting to see if Allen goes in as a member of the Phillies or White Sox.
He played there the longest, were his first team and his last team, and they retired his number (fortunately in that case, he was alive and got to enjoy it in person).
I'd love to see the Sox retire #15.
just like Santo, he should have been in before he died
The A's had Jackson, Fingers & Hunter in their primes, plus the likes of Rudi, Bando & Campaneris. The Sox had Allen, Wood (until his workload caught up w/ him post-Labor Day), May, rookies Gossage & Forster at age 20, and not much else worth noting. The recently deceased Melton was injured most of the year. That Sox team (for whom I kept a scrapbook) hung w/ the dynastic A's until mid-September, and Allen was clearly the biggest reason why.
His '73 season was injury-shortened. He won a 2d HR title in '74, even after quitting in mid-September. It was back to Philly after that. He had a huge ROY seaon for '64 Phils, and he had 3 straight excellent seasons for them after that. He had 6 seasons w/ over 5.0 WAR from 1964-72.
As befitting his love of horses, he had a cameo in the 2005 movie "Dreamer". Sox had a an astroturf IF when he was there. He famously said of turf fields: "If a horse can't eat it, I don't want to play on it."
I wish he had been inducted while he was still alive. It's an honor that was overdue.
EDIT: Tommy John was also on this ballot, but he didn't make it. Sox traded John to Dodgers for Allen in '71-72 offseason.