Allen’s emergence as a bullpen stopper in 1980 was one of the Mets’ few bright spots in the first part of the decade. The clubhouse cut-up had seasons of 22, 18, and 19 saves (1980-82). After a poor start in 1983, at which point Allen confessed an alcohol problem, the Mets traded him to the Cardinals, who were unloading Keith Hernandez for suspected drug use. Hernandez became a team leader on the Mets; Allen bounced around and hit bottom in 1987, when he was 0-8 for the White Sox and the Yankees. It was his second stint with the Yankees; in 1988 he pitched an unusual shutout for them. Relieving in the first inning with none out and a runner on first base, he picked off the runner; a special scorer’s decision gave him a shutout, but not a complete game.
