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

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) player who primarily played first base 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 of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

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 (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

Early life

Allen was born in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...

. He attended Edmond Memorial High School and Stanford University. From 1992 to 1995, Allen played for the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. As of June, 2022, Stanford's program has won 131 NCAA team championships. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 46 consecutive ...

baseball team. His highest offensive output came during his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or 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 institutions. A ...

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 First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Background Outfielder Darin Erstad of the University of Nebraska was the first pick in the 1995 Rule 4 Draft. Erstad ...

, 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 state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

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 reorganiza ...

. 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 fra ...

of the California League, 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 ...

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– ...

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 level, which is one grade below Major League Bas ...

. 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 (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

pitcher

Mike Myers Michael John Myers Order of Canada, OC (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. His accolades include seven MTV Movie & TV Awards, MTV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Awards, Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Acto ...

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. 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 Mud Hens team has played ...

. 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. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

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

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 ...

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) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

pitcher Eddie Guardado 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 Stanford University 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 Baseball players from Oklahoma 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 Sportspeople from Oklahoma City Toledo Mud Hens players Stanford Cardinal baseball players Edmond Memorial High School alumni American expatriate baseball players in Australia