Andy Allanson

Andy Allanson
Catcher
Born: December 22, 1961 (1961-12-22) Richmond, Virginia
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 7, 1986 for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB appearance
October 2, 1995 for the California Angels
Career statistics
Average	.240
Hits	357
RBI	140
Teams
Cleveland Indians (1986-1989) Detroit Tigers (1991) Milwaukee Brewers (1992) San Francisco Giants (1993) California Angels (1995)

Andrew Neal Allanson (born December 22, 1961 in Richmond, Virginia), is a former professional baseball catcher who played in the Major Leagues for eight seasons, from 1986 to 1995. Andy was signed as a second-round pick in the 1983 amateur draft, by the Cleveland Indians and scout Bobby Malkmus. Allanson was an exceptional defensive receiver with a powerful throwing arm, who would sometimes throw to the bases without standing up.

A lithe, take-charge catcher, Allanson's handling of the 1986 Cleveland pitching staff was in part responsible for the Indians' resurgent, 84-78 mark. He was named the Topps All-Rookie catcher. Despite his size (6'5", 220 lbs), Allanson didn't homer until his 1,025th pro at-bat, in the Kingdome that June 23. The Indians, feeling they were perhaps a better-hitting, veteran catcher away from contention, signed Rick Dempsey for 1987, demoting Allanson. Cleveland finished last (61-101), and Allanson was again the starting catcher in 1988.

The acquisition of Joel Skinner before the 1989 season again cut into Allanson's playing time, and when the team traded for Sandy Alomar, Jr. in December 1989, it was clear Allanson's starting days were over. He was released the following spring, and spent 1990 in the minors. Over the next five years, Allanson saw only sporadic major-league action with four different clubs.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Baseball Almanac