Roderick Bernet "Rod" Allen (born October 5, 1959 in Los Angeles, California) is a television baseball color commentator, currently for the Detroit Tigers on Fox Sports Detroit. He also analyzes for other games on Fox Saturday Baseball when the Tigers don't play on Fox Sports Detroit. His former positions include color commentator for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and before that a baseball player, and later a coach.

[edit] Baseball

[edit] Playing career

Allen was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the sixth round of the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft. He enjoyed a brief stint with the Seattle Mariners in 1983. He was 23 years old when he made his major league debut on April 7, 1983. He hit .296 in 27 at bats during a 15 game stint as an outfielder and designated hitter with the World Champion Detroit Tigers in 1984. He enjoyed another brief stint in the majors with the Cleveland Indians in 1988. Allen spent the last three years of his playing career with the Hiroshima Carp in Japan's Central League. He hit a pair of home runs against Seibu Lions in the 1991 Japan Series and set a Japanese regular season record with four home runs in four consecutive at bats during his time in the league. He is infamous for charging the mound after Kazuhiko Daimon from the Yokohama Taiyo Whales hit him in the back with a pitch, and subsequently chasing the pitcher across the entire field with both teams' benches in tow.

[edit] Coaching career

Prior to his work as a broadcaster, Allen spent four seasons as a hitting instructor in the Florida Marlins organization from 1992 through 1995. In 1994 and 1995, he was the hitting coach for the Kane County Cougars, the Marlins Single-A affiliate in the Midwest League. Some of the notable players he coached include Mike Redmond, Kevin Millar, and Luis Castillo. During his time in the Marlins organization, Allen worked under Dave Dombrowski, who would later become the Tigers President, CEO, and General Manager.

[edit] Broadcasting

[edit] Arizona Diamondbacks

From 1998-2002 he spent five seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks as a television (Fox Sports Arizona) and radio (KTAR) analyst. He served as the color commentator on the Diamondbacks radio broadcasts during the 2001 postseason, including the World Series win against the New York Yankees.

[edit] Detroit Tigers

Currently, Allen is the regular color commentator on Detroit Tigers telecasts for Fox Sports Detroit. ^[1] The 2009 baseball season was Allen's seventh season of broadcasting Tigers games, while Mario Impemba does play-by-play. Allen won Michigan Emmys in 2006 and 2007 for his analysis of Detroit Tigers baseball. Rod is a longtime member of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association founded in 1948 by legendary Tigers broadcaster Ty Tyson.

[edit] Fox Saturday Baseball

In addition to his work for the Tigers he has contributed to Fox Saturday Baseball.

[edit] Family life

Allen and his wife, Adrian, have four children: Rhonda, 31; Rod, Jr., 25; Andrew, 18; and Rachel, 16. The Allens live in the Phoenix, Arizona area. Rod, Jr. was selected by the New York Yankees in the 12th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft after a collegiate career at Arizona State University. He played the 2004 season with the Staten Island Yankees in the New York-Penn League, and he is currently on the roster of the Class A Winston-Salem Warthogs. Andrew was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 43rd round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft. He attended Desert Vista High School in Phoenix, Arizona. ^[2]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Rod Allen on Facebook