Phillies should honor Dick Allen with a uniform patch | Extra Innings

Look out, Grapefruit League, here come the Phillies. Last year’s spring training champions have won two in a row. Don’t let the Phillies get hot, Florida. They’ll be back on TV again Friday afternoon as they host the Pirates. Thursday offered a glimpse at Matt Moore and Vince Velasquez, both of whom made good pitches at rotation jobs. The competition continues Friday with Chase Anderson and Spencer Howard. It should make for a good race.

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— Matt Breen (extrainnings@inquirer.com)

The Mets announced this week that they will honor the late Tom Seaver this season with a uniform patch. The Brewers said in January that they will wear a similar tribute for Hank Aaron. The Tigers honored Al Kaline last season on their sleeves, and the Cardinals stitched a patch for Stan Musial in 2013.

The Phillies should do the same for Dick Allen, who died in December. The team has not yet said if it will honor Allen with a patch, but as of now it does not sound like it.

The Phillies retired Allen’s number last September, but wearing him on their sleeve for 162 games this season would keep Allen in the forefront ahead of December’s Hall of Fame election. It would be a fitting gesture for a player often overlooked in Phillies history and provide a boost to his Hall of Fame chances.

The Phillies did not wear a patch after the deaths of Roy Halladay or Jim Bunning. But they did honor Robin Roberts, Tug McGraw, Paul Owens, Dallas Green, John Vukovich, Richie Ashburn, David Montgomery, and Harry Kalas with uniform patches. They even honored three owners with patches. Honoring Allen would not be unprecedented.

The Phillies’ ceremony for Allen last summer was intended to generate momentum before the Hall of Fame’s Golden Days committee was to vote on Allen’s candidacy. But the coronavirus pandemic postponed the vote by a year. Allen died on the day the committee was originally scheduled to announce the results.

Allen played nine of his 15 major-league seasons in Philadelphia, won the Rookie of the Year award in 1964, and was the team’s first Black star. Allen’s 165 OPS+ from 1964 to 1973 led the majors, better than all-time greats such as Aaron, Harmon Killebrew, and Willie McCovey. From 1880 to 1990, 24 players registered a slugging percentage of .510 or better over at least 6,300 plate appearances. Allen is the only one not in the Hall of Fame.

If the Phillies are looking for a design, they could honor Allen the way he honored someone else. In 1976, Allen wore a black armband around his left sleeve after his agent, Clem Capozzoli, died. Capozzoli, a South Philadelphia baker, died after visiting Allen at spring training. Allen said Capozzoli was “one of the best men to ever walk the face of this earth.”

The black armband wasn’t sanctioned by the team, and Allen was the only player who wore it that season. It was just Allen’s way to honor a friend. Perhaps the Phillies could do the same this season for Allen.

Odúbel Herrera homered Thursday and made a nice defensive play, but it was what he did before the game that could play a bigger role in determining if he can return to the Phillies.

Phillies manager Joe Girardi said he considers former first-round pick Mickey Moniak part of the competition to win the center-field job out of spring training. If you’re scoring at home, that makes it five players in the race, Bob Brookover writes.

Rhys Hoskins said he has “no reason why I won’t be ready for opening day,” Scott Lauber writes.

Today: Chase Anderson and Spencer Howard are both scheduled to pitch vs. the Pirates, 1:05 p.m. (NBCSP)

Tomorrow: The Phillies travel to Dunedin to play the Blue Jays, 1:07 p.m.

Sunday: The Phillies head to Tampa to play the Yankees, 1:05 p.m.

Monday: The Phillies are off.

Four weeks from today, the Phillies will be enjoying their first off day of the season. So who is going to start on opening day? We can assume it will be Aaron Nola, who was the first starter to pitch in Grapefruit League play. If so, Nola would start his fourth straight opening day. The last Phillie to start four straight was Steve Carlton, who started 14 of 15 openers from 1972 to ’86. The last homegrown Phillies starter to start four straight openers was Chris Short, 1968-71.

“That would be cool. I didn’t know that,” Nola said. “Opening day is always an honor to open the season on the mound. It’s one day, but it’s an honor. After that day, there’s a lot more starts left.”

Send questions by email or on Twitter to @matt_breen.

Question: If Spencer Howard isn’t in the rotation, where does he go? — Donnie B., via email.

Answer: Thanks, Donnie. I’m still sticking to the bullpen. If not, he would have to go to the alternate site in Allentown (MLB postponed the triple-A season by four weeks). I think you could’ve made an argument of keeping him at triple A instead of the bullpen, but having him train at the alternate site for a few weeks doesn’t seem too beneficial. The Phillies need him to pitch in meaningful games if he’s not in their rotation. Keeping him in the bullpen would allow that.