After Wednesday's practice, the Rockets remained uncertain about when Harden would be cleared to practice because they were awaiting word from the NBA about the COVID-19 protocols following the superstar's holdout from training camp.

Fans turned even more vicious, pelting Allen with debris from the stands, eventually forcing him to wear a helmet while playing the field. Nor was the abuse confined to the ballpark. A few days after the fight, someone called Allen’s wife at home and threatened to murder her husband. Others vandalized his house and tore up his lawn with their cars. Allen had lasting physical damage from the fight, too. In an interview years later with the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), teammate Pat Corrales recalled that Allen’s shoulder swelled to twice its normal size overnight and said, “he couldn’t lift that shoulder for a while, and it bothered him for some time.” It’s likely the fight affected his performance on the field: Before the fight, he was hitting .335, but afterward, he hit only .271 the rest of the season.

So we started hunting around and found what we thought might be a promising lead: police reports in the area near where Chapman lived. One problem: They needed to be picked up in person. And, well, Nashville isn't exactly driving distance to Miami.Los Angeles Angels Face Masks

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Allen’s son says his father holds no grudges. Before retiring his number, the Phillies had inducted Allen into their Wall of Fame, and he has worked for the club in various roles for several years. His reputation, however, never fully recovered. In 1994, nearly two decades after Allen had played his final game, famed baseball writer and statistician Bill James wrote that Allen “did more to keep his teams from winning than anyone else who ever played Major League Baseball. And if that’s a Hall of Famer, I’m a lug nut.”Colorado Rockies Face Masks

Allen certainly has the numbers of a Hall of Famer. During the 11-year peak of his career (1964-74), Allen had an offensive WAR of 68.5, easily the highest of that era (beating out first-ballot Hall of Famers such as Aaron, Frank Robinson and Carl Yastrzemski). Many point to his relatively low career home run total of 351 as a reason he shouldn’t be in the Hall, but he played in an era of unprecedented pitching dominance (culminating in 1968’s famous “Year of the Pitcher,” which saw Denny McLain win 31 games and Bob Gibson have a 1.12 ERA). During his peak years, Allen’s 319 home runs were the fifth-most in the majors, and his 0.940 on-base percentage plus slugging percentage (OPS) was second only to Aaron.Kansas City Royals Face Masks