New York Mets The
New York Mets drafted Allen out of
Bishop Ward High School in
Kansas City, Kansas, in the eleventh round of the
1976 Major League Baseball draft. He went 10–2 with a 2.79
earned run average and led the
Carolina League with 126
strikeouts with the
Lynchburg Mets in his second professional season. Allen came up with the Mets as a
starting pitcher in 1979, and he made his major league debut on April 15 against the
Philadelphia Phillies and former Met
Nino Espinosa, giving up three
runs in six
innings and taking the loss. Allen was 0-5 as a starter when the Mets moved him to the
bullpen. He won his next four decisions in a row as a
reliever, and on July 28, he earned his first major league
save. Soon Allen emerged as the club's
closer, earning eight saves by the end of the season and 69 total in his Mets career. In May 1981, the Mets reached a deal to acquire
Ellis Valentine from the
Montreal Expos for
Dan Norman and either Allen or
Jeff Reardon. Unwilling to part with their closer, the Mets sent Reardon to the Expos. With Allen's record standing at 0–4 with a 5.68 ERA and a .301
batting average against early in the 1983 season, the Mets made the decision to convert Allen back into a starter. Allen won his first two decisions, including a
shutout of the
Los Angeles Dodgers. Two weeks later, on June 15, he and
Rick Ownbey were traded to the
St. Louis Cardinals for
Keith Hernandez.
St. Louis Cardinals Allen's first start as a Cardinal came against the Mets at
Shea Stadium. He held the Mets to four
hits with six
strikeouts (2 of Hernandez) over eight innings, and drove in one of the Cardinals' six runs. His second win for the Cards also came against his former club. This time, he held them to one run over seven innings. He also had an
RBI double, and scored a run in the second inning. All told, he went 3–0 with a 0.87 ERA against the Mets in 1983. Against the rest of the
National League, he was 9–13 with a 4.76 ERA. In 1984, he was returned to the bullpen, making only one emergency start. Allen was 1–4 with a 5.59
earned run average, and began incurring the wrath of Cardinals fans. On July 16, 1985 he was sold to the
New York Yankees. Allen was 1–0 with one save and a 2.76 ERA out of the Yankees' bullpen.
Chicago White Sox Following the '85 season, Allen was traded to the
Chicago White Sox with
Scott Bradley and Glenn Braxton for
Ron Hassey,
Matt Winters, Chris Alvarez and Eric Schmidt. The White Sox converted him back to a starter, and he earned his first win of the season against
Ron Guidry at
Yankee Stadium on May 15. Allen gave up only one earned run, four hits and two
walks in seven innings for the first White Sox victory over Guidry at Yankee Stadium since August 13, 1980. His next start at Yankee Stadium was even better. On July 20, Allen pitched a complete game two hitter to lead the White Sox to an 8–0 victory over the Yankees. For the season, Allen went 7–2 with a 3.82 ERA.
1987–1990 The White Sox released Allen during the 1987 season after he posted an 0–7 record and 7.07 ERA. He signed with the Yankees for the remainder of the season, and returned again for 1988. He signed a minor league deal with the
Cleveland Indians in 1989, making three appearances for the big league club. He pitched for the
Cincinnati Reds' AAA affiliate, the
Nashville Sounds in 1990 before retiring. ==Career stats==