Dustin R. Allen (born August 9, 1972) is a retired

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) player who primarily played

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

in 2000. He played for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

Early life

Allen was born in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

. He attended Edmond Memorial High School and

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. From 1992 to 1995, Allen played for the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Stanford University. Stanford's program has won 138 National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA team championships, the List of NCAA schools ...

baseball team. His highest offensive output came during his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

season, when Allen batted .296, with 10 home runs and 46 runs batted in. Over his college career, Allen recorded a .270 average, 31 homers, and 181 RBI.

Professional career

San Diego Padres (1995–2000)

During the

1995 MLB Draft The 1995 Major League Baseball draft began June 1995 to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 1994 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who did not s ...

, San Diego selected Allen in the 30th round. He made his professional debut that year, appearing in 29 games with the

Idaho Falls Braves Idaho ( ) is a landlocked state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly ref ...

of the Pioneer League. He also saw action in 36 contests for the Class A

Clinton LumberKings The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest Leag ...

of the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. For season, Allen posted a .292 batting average, 9 home runs, and 55 RBI. Allen appeared in 77 games with Clinton the following year, batting .267 and tallying 10 homers and 46 RBI. He also played in 55 games with the higher Class A

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and play their home games at LoanMart Field. The franc ...

of the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...

, where he batted .298, with 10 homers and 45 runs batted in. Allen spent the entire 1997 season with the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League B ...

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

of the Southern League. He batted .253 in 131 games, hitting 17 homers and driving in 75 runs. Allen split 1998 between Mobile and 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). ...

Las Vegas Stars of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. 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. 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. In 2000, Allen batted .311 in 67 games with Las Vegas, tallying 14 homers and 55 RBI. He joined the Padres during the season and made his MLB debut on July 1. Pinch-hitting against

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

pitcher

Mike Myers Michael John Myers, (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. His accolades include seven MTV Movie & TV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood W ...

in his first at-bat, Allen lined into a double play. Allen appeared in 9 games for the Padres, going hit-less in 12 at-bats.

Detroit Tigers (2000–2001)

On July 17, 2000, the

acquired Allen from San Diego in exchange for

Gabe Alvarez Gabriel de Jesus Alvarez (born March 6, 1974) is a Mexican Minor League Baseball coach and former Major League Baseball third baseman for the Detroit Tigers (1998–2000) and the San Diego Padres (2000). Playing career A 6'1, 205 lbs. rig ...

. Allen batted .222 in 25 games for Detroit's Class AAA affiliate, the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

. His offensive performance improved significantly after he was promoted to Detroit, as he batted .438 (7 for 16) in 18 games with the Tigers. On August 14, Allen recorded his first MLB hit, a double, off

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

pitcher

Joel Piñeiro Joel Alberto Piñeiro (, ; born September 25, 1978) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim ...

. His first MLB home run came on August 29, when he hit a solo homer off

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

pitcher Chuck McElroy. On October 1, Allen homered off

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

pitcher

Eddie Guardado Edward Adrian Guardado (born October 2, 1970) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher and current bullpen coach. Guardado played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins (–, ), Seattle Mariners (–), Cincinnati ...

in what would prove to be his final MLB at-bat. 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.

Personal life

Allen graduated from

in 1995, having earned bachelor's degrees in psychology and economics. He is currently the President and CEO of Westgate Business Services.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Dusty 1972 births Living people Clinton LumberKings players Detroit Tigers players Idaho Falls Braves players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball infielders Mobile BayBears players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players San Diego Padres players Baseball players from Oklahoma City Toledo Mud Hens players Stanford Cardinal baseball players Edmond Memorial High School alumni American expatriate baseball players in Australia