Regarding Dick Allen, "the clubhouse cancer":
- Asked if Allen's behavior ever had a negative influence on the team, Mauch said: "Never."
- Chuck Tanner: "Dick was the leader of our team, the captain, the manager on the field. He took care of the young kids, took them under his wing. And he played every game as if it was his last day on earth."
- Goose Gossage credited him for making him a better pitcher
- Stan Bahnsen:"I actually thought that Dick was better than his stats. Every time we needed a clutch hit, he got it. He got along great with his teammates and he was very knowledgeable about the game. He was the ultimate team guy."
- Mike Schmidt: "The baseball writers used to claim that Dick would divide the clubhouse along racial lines. That was a lie. The truth is that Dick never divided any clubhouse."
Dick Allen got a lot of flak for being a clubhouse cancer, no question. And he earned some of it - walking away from the White Sox because of a feud with Ron Santo, for example. But he also got flak for costing a white player (Frank Thomas) his job when that player actually attacked Allen (with a bat). His rep as a cancer is way overblown, without a doubt.
And, bottom line: Career OPS+ of 156. That's super-elite territory, folks.
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