Kim Allen
Encyclopedia
- For the actress, see Kim Allen (actress)Kim Allen (actress)Kim Allen is an American actress of half Greek descent.-Biography:Allen was born and raised in a suburb of Springfield, Massachusetts. She recently graduated with a BFA in drama from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, with minors in biology and anthropology...
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Kim Bryant Allen (born April 5, 1953 in Fontana, California
Fontana, California
Fontana is a city of 196,069 residents in San Bernardino County, California. Founded in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area...
) is a former Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player. After attending University of California, Riverside
University of California, Riverside
The University of California, Riverside, commonly known as UCR or UC Riverside, is a public research university and one of the ten general campuses of the University of California system. UCR is consistently ranked as one of the most ethnically and economically diverse universities in the United...
and a nondescript minor league career, Allen briefly earned prospect status with the Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
on the strength of his spectacular season for the Triple-A Spokane Indians
Spokane Indians
The Spokane Indians are a minor league baseball team located in Spokane, Washington, United States. They are a Short-Season A classification team in the Northwest League and have been a farm team of the Texas Rangers since 2003. The Indians play home games at Avista Stadium...
. That season he registered a 35 game hitting streak and stole 84 bases, the most in the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
since 1913. He was called up to the Mariners in September 1980 and swiped 10 bags in 23 games.
Entering , Allen was a dark horse Rookie of the Year
MLB Rookie of the Year Award
In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is annually given to one player from each league as voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America . The award was established in 1940 by the Chicago chapter of the BBWAA, which selected an annual winner from 1940 through 1946...
candidate, as there was speculation that Mariners manager Maury Wills
Maury Wills
Maurice Morning "Maury" Wills is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and switch-hitting batter who played most prominently with the Los Angeles Dodgers , and also with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Montreal Expos...
would embrace Allen's larcenous ways and would allow him to run wild. However, after breaking camp with the Mariners, Allen was used almost exclusively as a pinch-runner, and then was sent down at the end of April.
After his big league career, Allen played in Japan for the Hanshin Tigers
Hanshin Tigers
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly...
during the and seasons. In 1982, he hit .260/.326/.358 and stole 22 bases in 28 tries and he batted .276/.340/.409 in 47 games in '83. Surprisingly, he was caught in 8 of 20 steal attempts that year.
Allen also suited up for the Senior Professional Baseball Association
Senior Professional Baseball Association
The Senior Professional Baseball Association was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over . The league began play in 1989 and had eight teams in two divisions and a 72 game schedule...
's Fort Myers Sun Sox
Fort Myers Sun Sox
The Fort Myers Sun Sox were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. The Sun Sox finished their inaugural season in second place in the Southern Division with a 37-35 record. Their offense was led by the league's top hitter, Tim...
in and and led the league with 33 stolen bases.