Cleveland Indians closer Cody Allen: Master of consistency
By Tim Boyle
Since his MLB debut in 2012, Cleveland Indians closer Cody Allen has been a reliable bullpen arm the Tribe can usually count on.
Once he became the team’s closer in 2014, Cody Allen finally began to earn much-needed praise from more than those who followed the Cleveland Indians closely. In the years to follow, as he got even better, Allen remains an overlooked ninth-inning man.
Where’s the love for the defending American League champions’ closer?
Allen was key in getting the Indians to the World Series last year. Although Andrew Miller stole the spotlight with his multi-inning use in relief, it’s Allen whose duties were and still are to shut the door.
He saved 32 games for the 2016 Indians while posting a 2.51 ERA. In the postseason, not a single runner scored against him. He handled the Chicago Cubs incredibly well in the World Series by striking out an average of two per inning.
Last year wasn’t the first time he put up similarly elite numbers. Every full season of his career has ended with Allen and an ERA below 3.00 added to his resume. Somehow, it has gotten lost in the shuffle. Not once has he been selected to an All-Star team or received any other individual accolade.
In addition to keeping runs off the board, Allen is a very capable strikeout pitcher. Other than his shortened rookie campaign in 2012, every season ends with Allen earning at minimum 11.3 strikeouts per nine.
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Allen’s 2017 ERA won’t drop below the 2.07 he finished 2014 with. This shouldn’t steal anything away from how much he has improved this season. His strikeout rate is back to 12 per nine and his walk rate is on pace to finish below three per nine for the first time in his career.
Throughout the Indians’ recent run of success, Allen has been instrumental in locking down the final frame of each game. The way he keeps runners off the base paths, and more importantly from scoring, makes Cleveland that much more of a perennial championship contender.
Unlike last year when the Indians relied so heavily on the starting pitching, the relief corps is the strength. Other than Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco, the Indians’ starting staff has been underwhelming at times. Allen and company have not. He is one of five pitchers with 45+ innings and an ERA below 3.00. Powered by Miller, Dan Otero, Nick Goody and others pitching in front of him, Allen will finish 2017 with fantastic numbers yet again.
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All he appears to be missing is the final strike thrown in the World Series. With any luck, Cleveland gets back there again and Allen closes out the enemy.