There have been so many times Josh Allen could have hung up his cleats.
The gritty St. Paul Saints second baseman could have done it when he wasn't drafted after college. Or after his first injury, which required Tommy John surgery.
The native of central Florida could have called it quits after being sideswiped by a stray bullet at police academy training. Or after lighting up the independent Frontier League for four years but getting nary a nibble from major league organizations.
Or after tearing the meniscus in his left knee while shagging fly balls barely two months after joining the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, the New York Mets' Class AA affiliate, last summer. Or when he was released by the Mets — his only experience with MLB-affiliated baseball — after his knee healed.
He could have quit. If it had ever crossed his mind, that is.
Allen, 28, will be at second base for the St. Paul Saints on Thursday when they host the Milwaukee Milkmen in their 2019 opener at CHS Field. It's his second go-round with the team; he had a productive month with the Saints last year before the Mets came calling.
When the Mets released him after last season, Allen had two thoughts: Quitting is not an option. And he wanted to go back to St. Paul.
"My dad ingrained in my head that if you want something, go after it and don't let anything get in your way," Allen said. "To go out on an injury was not how I wanted my career to end."