Chad Allen

Despite a disappointing season for Double-A New Britain in 1998, Allen made the Twins out of spring training in 1999 and was a pleasant surprise while filling in for the hobbled Marty Cordova in left field. One of ten rookies on the Opening Day roster, he impressed fans with aggressive baserunning and led the team in runs.

But Allen somehow failed to make the final cut in 2000 and spent most of the year in Triple-A. During his short stint in the majors, he annoyed manager Tom Kelly by not running out of ground balls, and his defensive play was shaky at best.

The son of former NFL defensive back Jackie Allen, Chad grew up a fan of the Texas Rangers and roomed with future major-league hurler Ryan Rupe at Texas A&M.; A deep scar under his nose was caused by a football injury at the age of 13.