Phillies Will Retire Dick Allen's Number 15

Here’s a quality gesture from the Phillies:

The #Phillies and John Middleton just announced a really cool thing:

They're going to retire No. 15 in honor of Dick Allen.

He's the first player in team history to have his number retired even though he's not in the Hall of Fame.

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) August 13, 2020

Traditionally, the Phils only retire the numbers of Hall of Famers, like Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton.

This move gives Allen a much warranted honor while also setting the stage for the Phillies to also retire the numbers of guys like Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, and whomever else from the 2007 to 2011 era, even if those guys don’t make the HOF.

Here’s a snippet from the article on the Phils site:

The ceremony will take place on September 3, 2020, the 57th anniversary of Allen’s major league debut with the Phillies. The organization will also honor Allen next season when fans will be in attendance and can properly salute his storied career.

“Dick Allen burst onto the 1964 Phillies and immediately established himself as a superstar. His legendary performance on the field gave millions of fans lasting memories, and he helped cement my love for baseball and the Phillies as a young boy,” said Middleton. “The Phillies organization is thrilled to give Dick and his family this honor that recognizes his Hall of Fame-worthy career and his legacy as one of the greatest Phillies of all time.”

Allen had a crack at the Hall of Fame in 2014, but fell one vote short. He’ll get another shot via the Veterans committee and pretty clearly deserves enshrinement. Seven All-Star selections, 1972 MVP, and great stats to boot.

Nice gesture by the Phillies, and maybe this will even boost his HOF credentials, or at least elevate his name in the discussion.