Brandon Allen (baseball)

Summary

Brandon Durell Allen (born February 12, 1986) is an American professional baseball coach and former first baseman who is the assistant hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland Athletics, and Tampa Bay Rays and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Brandon Allen
Allen with the Arizona Diamondbacks
St. Louis Cardinals – No. 87
First baseman / Assistant hitting coach
Born: (1986-02-12) February 12, 1986 (age 38)
Conroe, Texas, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
Professional debut
MLB: August 22, 2009, for the Arizona Diamondbacks
NPB: August 12, 2012, for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Last appearance
MLB: May 9, 2012, for the Tampa Bay Rays
NPB: August 25, 2012, for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
MLB statistics
Batting average.203
Home runs12
Runs batted in41
NPB statistics
Batting average.171
Home runs0
Runs batted in1
Teams
As player

As coach

Professional career edit

Chicago White Sox edit

Allen was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the fifth round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft.

Arizona Diamondbacks edit

On July 7, 2009, he was traded from the White Sox to the Arizona Diamondbacks for pitcher Tony Peña.[1]

Allen was called up to the majors for the first time on August 22, 2009, and made his debut that day.[2] He finished the game one for four with a single. Allen would play in 32 games that season and finished with a .202 batting average, four home runs, and 14 RBIs.

After spending most of the 2010 season at Triple-A Reno, Allen was called up on September 1, 2010. In his first game against the San Diego Padres, he hit his first career grand slam. He finished the season with a .267 batting average in 22 games.

Oakland Athletics edit

On July 31, 2011, Allen was traded to the Oakland Athletics with Jordan Norberto for Brad Ziegler.[3] He was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento.

On August 23, 2011, Allen became only the second player in history to hit a home run into the upper deck at the New Yankee Stadium (Russell Branyan being the first). Later in the game he hit a shorter home run into the second deck to help the Athletics defeat the Yankees 6–5.

On April 9, 2012, Allen was designated for assignment.

Tampa Bay Rays edit

On April 19, 2012, Allen was claimed off waivers from the Oakland Athletics by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Allen had his first career hit as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, a two-run walk-off home run against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim which resulted in the Rays sweeping the series. He was again designated for assignment and was subsequently released.

Texas Rangers edit

In 2013, Allen signed a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training by the Rangers. By the end of spring training, Allen was released by the Rangers.

San Diego Padres edit

On April 9, 2013, Allen signed a minor league deal with the Padres. He played 2013 with Triple-A Tucson, where he was used mostly at first base, but also played in 40 games in left field. In 119 games with the Padres, he hit .267 with 17 HR, 76 RBI and 24 doubles.

New York Mets edit

On November 19, 2013, Allen signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets. He spent 2014 and 2015 with their AAA affiliate, the Las Vegas 51s.

Cincinnati Reds edit

On November 30, Allen signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds.[4] on April 8, 2016, Allen had his contract purchased by the Reds. He was designated for assignment two days later without appearing in a game. He became a free agent on October 11, 2016.

Coaching career edit

On June 22, 2017, Allen became the hitting coach for the Johnson City Cardinals, the Rookie-league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals.[5] In 2018, he was promoted to be the hitting coach of the Single-A Palm Beach Cardinals.[6] He was named hitting coach for the Double-A Springfield Cardinals in 2019, and was again promoted to become the hitting coach of the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds in 2020.[7]

On November 6, 2022, Allen became the assistant hitting coach for the Cardinals, earning his first major league coaching position.[8]

References edit

  1. ^ White Sox acquire Pena from D-backs
  2. ^ "Brandon Allen promoted". Archived from the original on 2009-08-26. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
  3. ^ "Arizona".[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Eddy, Matt (December 1, 2015). "Minor League Transactions: Nov. 21-27". Baseball America. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  5. ^ "Cardinals Front Office And Coaching Staff - 2017". Baseball America. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  6. ^ Langosch, Jenifer (January 4, 2018). "Cards shuffle 2018 Minors staffs significantly". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  7. ^ "Johnson, Orozco, & Allen to Lead 2020 Redbirds". Minor League Baseball. March 6, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  8. ^ "Cards set '23 coaching staff, with Holliday as bench coach". St. Louis Cardinals. MLB.com. November 6, 2022. Retrieved November 6, 2022.

External links edit

  • Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)