Cody Edward Allen (born November 20, 1988) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

from 2012 to 2018 and the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

in 2019.

Amateur career

Allen is the son of Craig and Billie Allen. He played high school baseball and was the quarterback on the football team at

William R. Boone High School William Rennick Boone High School is a public high school in Orlando, Florida. Built in 1952, the school is one of twenty high schools in the Orange County Public Schools system, created to accommodate the growing number of students at Orlando H ...

in Orlando, Florida. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

St. Petersburg College St. Petersburg College (SPC) is a public college in Pinellas County, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System and one of the institutions in the system designated a "state college," as it offers a greater number of bachelor's degrees th ...

, and

High Point University High Point University is a private university in High Point, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The university was founded as High Point College in 1924, and it became High Point University in October 1991. HPU of ...

. The

selected him in the 16th round of the 2010 MLB draft, but he opted not to sign.

Professional career

Cleveland Indians

Minor leagues

The Indians selected Allen in the 23rd round of the

2011 MLB draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

. Allen signed with Cleveland and spent 2011 with four teams in the Indians' farm system, but spent the majority of the season with the

Mahoning Valley Scrappers The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were ...

of the

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

New York-Penn League, pitching to a 3–1

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

with a 2.14

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 14 games. Between the four teams, he was 5-1 with a 1.65 ERA, and 75

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

in 54.2 innings, averaging 12.3 strikeouts per 9 innings. The following year he spent most of the season with the Columbus Clippers of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

International League, going 3–2 with a 2.27 ERA in 24 games. Pitching for three minor league teams, he was 3-2 with three saves and a 1.87 ERA, and 53 strikeouts in 43.1 innings, averaging 11.0 strikeouts per 9 innings. He was named the Cleveland Indians' Minor League Pitcher of the Year after the season. After the 2012 season '' Baseball America'' ranked him the 5th-best prospect and best curveball in the Indians organization, and the 13th best-prospect in the International League.

Major leagues

On July 20, 2012, Allen made his Major League debut for the Cleveland Indians after being called up from Columbus He pitched an inning of relief giving up two walks, no runs, no hits, and one strikeout. He struck out

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

third baseman Mark Reynolds for his first career strikeout. In 2013, Allen went 6–1 with a 2.43 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 70.1 innings, averaging 11.3 strikeouts per 9 innings. His 77 games pitched was second in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

, trailing only

Joel Peralta Joel Peralta Gutiérrez (; ; born March 23, 1976) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals, Tam ...

's 80 (and 2nd all-time for any Indians pitcher), and he was 2nd in the league in

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

s committed by a pitcher (3), and 8th in

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third str ...

es (9). He tied for 6th in the 2013 BBWAA

AL Rookie of the Year In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

voting. After multiple struggles by closer

John Axford John Berton Axford (born April 1, 1983), nicknamed "Ax Man", is a Canadian professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Pitts ...

early in the 2014 season, Allen was moved into the closer role. Allen finished the season with 76 appearances (again 2nd in the American League; tied for 4th all-time for any Indians pitcher), a 6–4 record with a 2.07 ERA, 91 strikeouts (8th-most in a single-season by an Indians reliever), and 24 saves (9th) in innings, averaging 11.8 strikeouts per 9 innings. For the 2015 season, Allen pitched in 70 games (8th in the AL), leading the American League with 58 games finished, while recording 34 saves (6th), 99 strikeouts (2nd among AL relievers), and a 2.99 ERA in innings, averaging 12.9 strikeouts per 9 innings. In 2016, he had 32 saves (7th in the AL) in 35 save opportunities, going 3–5 with a 2.51 ERA. He struck out 87 batters (8th among AL relievers) in 68 innings, averaging 11.5 strikeouts per 9 innings. In 2017, he had 30 saves (6th in the AL) in 34 save opportunities, finishing the season with a 3–7 record and a 2.94 ERA. He struck out 92 batters (9th-most by an AL reliever) in innings, averaging 12.3 strikeouts per 9 innings. With his 141st career save in July 2018, Allen broke

Bob Wickman Robert Joe Wickman (born February 6, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Wickman played for the New York Yankees (–), Milwaukee Brewers (1996–), Cleveland Indians (2000–), Atlanta Braves (2006–), and Arizona Diamondback ...

's franchise record for saves. Allen lost his closer role to

Brad Hand Bradley Richard Hand (born March 20, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, Washington Nationals, Toronto ...

after struggling in the month of August. He ended the season with 27 saves (6th in the AL) in 32 save chances in 70 appearances, as he was 4-6 with a 4.70 ERA, with 80 strikeouts in 67 innings, averaging 10.7 strikeouts per 9 innings. He gave up the longest home runs of any pitcher in major league baseball in 2018, at 495 feet. Through 2018, his 149 career saves were 9th of all major league active pitchers, tops of all major league pitchers under 30 years of age, and tops of all Cleveland Indians pitchers ever. He became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

after the 2018 season.

Los Angeles Angels

On January 20, 2019, Allen signed a one-year, $8.5 million contract with the

. He began the season as the Angels closer, going 4/4 for the first couple of weeks of the season despite control issues. He was removed of the closer role on April 24 and later was placed on the injured list with a lumbar strain. He was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

on June 15 after compiling a 6.26 ERA in 25 games, and was released on June 18.

Minnesota Twins

On June 22, 2019, the Twins signed Allen to a $500,000 minor league contract for the remainder of the 2019 season. He was released on July 31, 2019.

Texas Rangers

On February 7, 2020, Allen signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers. Allen was released by the Rangers organization on July 24, 2020.

Chicago Cubs

On July 31, 2020, Allen signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs. He was released by the organization on September 3, 2020.

Retirement

On February 17, 2021, Allen announced his retirement from professional baseball.

Personal life

Allen married Mallory Rundquist in November 2015. The couple have a son, who was born in 2017. His twin brother, Chad, played baseball for the

University of West Florida The University of West Florida (West Florida or UWF) is a public university in Pensacola, Florida. Established in 1963 as part of the State University System of Florida, the university sits on the third largest campus in the State University Sys ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Cody 1988 births Living people William R. Boone High School alumni Baseball players from Orlando, Florida Major League Baseball pitchers Cleveland Indians players Los Angeles Angels players UCF Knights baseball players St. Petersburg Titans baseball players High Point Panthers baseball players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Lake County Captains players Kinston Indians players Carolina Mudcats players Akron Aeros players Columbus Clippers players Twin sportspeople American twins