1986 Profile: Neil Allen

"Neil was acquired last year on July 17 in an attempt to bolster the bullpen. Making only one start in 17 games for St. Louis, he was 1-4 with two saves and a 5.59 ERA upon his arrival in New York. Neil was 1-0 with a save and a 2.76 ERA in 17 relief appearances with the Yankees, finishing 10 games. His only save as a Yankee came on August 23 at Seattle and his only win came on September 30 against Baltimore, pitching 1.1 perfect innings with two strikeouts. He did not allow an earned run in his last four outings (9.2 IP) and opposing batters hit just .234 against him.
In 1984, Neil was used as a late inning reliever, replacing Bruce Sutter as the closer for the Cardinals. He pitched 17 consecutive scoreless innings from May 7-25, allowing only five hits in seven appearances. His longest outing was 5.2 scoreless innings an an August 31 victory over Houston's Nolan Ryan.
He began the 1983 season as a reliever with the Mets and became a starter for the first time since his rookie year in 1979. Neil was moved back to the bullpen by the Mets and was later traded to the Cardinals in mid-season. He began his career with the Cardinals as a starter, posting a 5-1 record, but after four consecutive losses was again moved to the pen. His relief record was 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA in seven games with the Cardinals. In 1983 Neil became the first NL pitcher since 1976 to shut out the same club twice while pitching for two different teams, blanking the Dodgers 4-0 on May 20 while with the Mets and then 3-0 on July 24 while with the Cardinals.
Neil began the first five games of his career in 1979 as a starter, and after going 0-4 was converted to a reliever. He went on the DL on May 31 with an injured rib cage, and became the number one reliever after being activated on June 25. From that point he made 38 appearances, with a record of 5-5 with eight saves. Neil's first save was on July 28, 1979 against the Cubs in New York. In 1980, he finished fourth in the NL in saves (22) and didn't permit a run in 37 of his 59 appearances. Neil was third in the NL in saves in 1981, and from August 11-27 didn't allow a run in eight consecutive appearances (14 IP) and recorded a pair of wins and six saves. In 1982, he was sixth in the NL in saves despite missing much of the season with illness and injury. Neil recorded his 15th save on June 14, before being sidelined for 11 days with a bacterial infection of the colon. He appeared in only five games after August 1, and was diagnosed on August 8 as having a slight strain of the elbow.
Neil earned varsity letters in baseball, football and basketball at Bishop Ward High School in Kansas City. He had football scholarship [offers] from all Big Eight Conference schools, and signed a letter of intent with Kansas State, but concentrated on baseball after being signed by the Mets.
He is an active volunteer for Muscular Dystrophy."

-1986 New York Yankees Information Guide