San Diego Padres (1995–2000)
During the 1995 MLB draft,San Diego selected Allen in the 30th round. [1] He made his professional debut that year,appearing in 29 games with the Idaho Falls Braves of the Pioneer League. He also saw action in 36 contests for the Class A Clinton LumberKings of the Midwest League. [3] For season,Allen posted a .292 batting average,9 home runs,and 55 RBI. [3]
Allen appeared in 77 games with Clinton the following year,batting .267 and tallying 10 homers and 46 RBI. [3] He also played in 55 games with the higher Class A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League,where he batted .298,with 10 homers and 45 runs batted in. [3] Allen spent the entire 1997 season with the Class AA Mobile BayBears of the Southern League. He batted .253 in 131 games,hitting 17 homers and driving in 75 runs. [3] Allen split 1998 between Mobile and the Class AAA Las Vegas Stars of the Pacific Coast League. He batted .253,with 6 homers and 42 RBI in 42 games with Mobile. With Las Vegas,he saw action in 87 games,recording a .267 average,16 homers,and 45 runs batted in. [3] He returned to Las Vegas for the 1999 season,appearing in 128 games. He batted .273,hit 18 home runs,and drove in 89 runs. [3]
In 2000,Allen batted .311 in 67 games with Las Vegas,tallying 14 homers and 55 RBI. [3] He joined the Padres during the season and made his MLB debut on July 1. [1] Pinch-hitting against Colorado Rockies pitcher Mike Myers in his first at-bat,Allen lined into a double play. [4] Allen appeared in 9 games for the Padres,going hit-less in 12 at-bats. [1]
Detroit Tigers (2000–2001)
On July 17,2000,the Detroit Tigers acquired Allen from San Diego in exchange for Gabe Alvarez. [1] Allen batted .222 in 25 games for Detroit's Class AAA affiliate,the Toledo Mud Hens. [3] His offensive performance improved significantly after he was promoted to Detroit,as he batted .438 (7 for 16) in 18 games with the Tigers. [1] On August 14,Allen recorded his first MLB hit,a double,off Seattle Mariners pitcher Joel Piñeiro. [5] [6] His first MLB home run came on August 29,when he hit a solo homer off Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chuck McElroy. [5] [7] On October 1,Allen homered off Minnesota Twins pitcher Eddie Guardado in what would prove to be his final MLB at-bat. [8] [9]
In 2001,Allen's final professional season,he saw action in 29 games for Toledo. He posted a .218 batting average,4 home runs,and 11 runs batted in. [3]
