Designated hitter Peter Allen ’08 is quiet and reserved by nature, but this season he is making a lot of noise with his bat. Allen has been the most important player for the baseball team this year.
Last season Allen struggled in the designated hitter role. He hit only .238 and led the team in strikeouts. Allen turned those struggles into motivation and turned his game around. As of April 30 he led the team with a .377 batting average, 16 doubles and five home runs.
“Something clicked for me in the off-season and allowed me to stay loose at the plate,” Allen said.
“Last year he chased balls out of the strike zone all the time, where this year he’s rarely done that. That’s mainly the biggest difference,” said Allen’s head coach John Slosar.
Allen credited a lot of his improvement to his father, George, who has been his baseball mentor throughout his life. He coached his summer league team and took him to batting cages to work on his swing.
The team has developed a tight bond that has allowed them to be comfortable on the field. The team also has great talent in the junior class and below.
He practices as an outfielder and has formed a bond with his fellow outfielders. He and his fellow players devote much of their time to baseball.
“Playing Division I baseball is like a full time job,” said Allen.
Allen’s fellow junior teammate Pat Hoban has developed a positive relationship with Allen because of the amount of time they spend together.
“We both love baseball. We joke with each other,” said Hoban. “We may have different personalities, but we like the same Mexican food.”
Allen describes himself as an “easygoing, pretty nice kid.” He also credits his family for raising him to respect others.
“Pete isn’t much of a talker. He’s got these big headphones that he’s always wearing. We tell him that he looks like an air traffic controller trying to land airplanes and block out the ruckus we are always causing in Townhouse 65, but I mean he is definitely an easy kid to live with,” said his housemate and teammate Dylan Gandossy ’08.
“He’s serious when he has to be, but he can also be goofy sometimes. He can keep us loose,” said Hoban.
Staying loose is exactly how Allen has improved this year. He is an offensive leader, who said he wants to break that stereotype that athletes who are not vocal do not make good leaders.
“I’m not a vocal rah rah guy. I try to lead by example and hopefully the younger guys can learn from that,” said Allen.
Coach Slosar said Allen’s numbers speak for themselves and that Allen does little things that often go unnoticed.
“He goes about his business, shows up for practice, comes and goes, does his work; that type of thing,” said Slosar.
Allen is an accounting major and is preparing for his future after baseball including an internship with the General Maritime Corporation in New York.
He also may have the chance to play in the nation’s third best collegiate summer league, the Northwoods League, in Minnesota and would take that opportunity over an internship.
“I only have one opportunity,” said Allen, “I’m young, but it’s not like I have two years left. I want scouts to see me.”
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