Kim Bryant Allen (born April 5, 1953) is a former professional baseball player.

Career

After playing

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 pl ...

for the

UC Riverside Highlanders The UC Riverside Highlanders represent the University of California, Riverside (UCR) in Riverside, California in 15 men's and women's intercollegiate athletics. The Highlanders compete in NCAA Division I; they are members of the Big West Conferen ...

and having a nondescript minor league career, Allen briefly earned prospect status with the

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) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

on the strength of his spectacular season for the Triple-A

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...

. That season he registered a 35-game hitting streak and stole 84 bases, the most in 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 ...

since 1913. He was called up to the Mariners in September 1980 and swiped 10 bags in 23 games. Entering , Allen was a dark horse Rookie of the Year candidate, as there was speculation that Mariners manager

Maury Wills Maurice Morning Wills (October 2, 1932 – September 19, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1959 through 1966 and the latter part of ...

would embrace Allen's larcenous ways and would allow him to run wild. However, after breaking camp with the Mariners, Allen was used almost exclusively as a

pinch-runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...

, and then was sent down at the end of April. After his big league career, Allen played in Japan for the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

during the and seasons. In 1982, he hit .260/.326/.358 and stole 22 bases in 28 tries and posted .276/.340/.409 in 47 games in 1983. Surprisingly, he was caught in eight of 20 steal attempts that year. Allen also spent 1976 in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

while playing for the

Alacranes de Durango Club de Fútbol Alacranes de Durango, is a Mexican football club based in the city of Durango, Durango, Mexico and currently play in the second level of the professional Mexican football league system. Their colors are green, white with black tr ...

. In between, he played winter ball with the

Navegantes del Magallanes The Navegantes del Magallanes ( Magellan Navigators), commonly known as Magallanes, are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, Magallanes has won 13 LVBP championships and two (2) Caribbean Series. It w ...

club of the

Venezuelan League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

in the 1980-81 season, and for the Petroleros de Zulia of the extinct

Inter-American League The Inter-American League was a high-level circuit in Minor league baseball that lasted only three months before folding during the 1979 season. The league was conceived both as an official Triple-A minor league circuit and member of the Nati ...

in 1979. Allen then suited up for the

Senior Professional Baseball Association The Senior Professional Baseball Association, referred to commonly as the ''Senior League'', was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over, with a minimum age of 32 for catchers. The league began play in 1989 and had ei ...

's Fort Myers Sun Sox in and led the league with 33 stolen bases.1989–1990 Fort Myers Sun Sox
''The Trading Card Database''. Retrieved on February 23, 2016.

Sources

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Kim 1953 births Living people Alacranes de Durango players American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from California Columbus Clippers players Fort Myers Sun Sox players Hanshin Tigers players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball second basemen Navegantes del Magallanes players Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders People from Fontana, California Petroleros de Zulia players Quad Cities Angels players Rochester Red Wings players Salinas Angels players Salt Lake City Gulls players San Bernardino Pride players Seattle Mariners players Spokane Indians players UC Riverside Highlanders baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela