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Dave Parker
American baseball player (1951–2025)
American baseball player (1951–2025)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image | Dave Parker Oakland A's.jpg |
| caption | Parker with the Oakland Athletics in 1989 |
| name | Dave Parker |
| position | Right fielder / Designated hitter |
| bats | Left |
| throws | Right |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Grenada, Mississippi, U.S. |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| debutleague | MLB |
| debutdate | July 12 |
| debutyear | 1973 |
| debutteam | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| finalleague | MLB |
| finaldate | October 2 |
| finalyear | 1991 |
| finalteam | Toronto Blue Jays |
| statleague | MLB |
| stat1label | Batting average |
| stat1value | .290 |
| stat2label | Hits |
| stat2value | 2,712 |
| stat3label | Home runs |
| stat3value | 339 |
| stat4label | Runs batted in |
| stat4value | 1,493 |
| hoflink | National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum |
| hoftype | National |
| hofdate | 2025 |
| hofvote | 87.5% |
| hofmethod | Classic Baseball Era Committee |
- Pittsburgh Pirates (–)
- Cincinnati Reds (–)
- Oakland Athletics (–)
- Milwaukee Brewers ()
- California Angels ()
- Toronto Blue Jays ()
- 7× All-Star (1977, 1979–1981, 1985, 1986, 1990)
- 2× World Series champion (, )
- NL MVP (1978)
- 3× Gold Glove Award (1977–1979)
- 3× Silver Slugger Award (1985, 1986, 1990)
- 2× NL batting champion (1977, 1978)
- NL RBI leader (1985)
- Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame
- Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame
- Milwaukee Brewers Wall of Honor
David Gene Parker (June 9, 1951 – June 28, 2025), nicknamed "the Cobra", | access-date = February 14, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160222105157/http://www.bighairplasticgrass.com/2011/06/day-of-the-cobra.html | archive-date = February 22, 2016 | url-status = dead
Parker was the first American athlete to earn an average of $1 million per year, having signed a five-year, $5 million contract in January 1979. Parker's career achievements include 2,712 hits, 339 home runs, 1,493 runs batted in, and a lifetime batting average of .290. Parker was also known as a solid defensive outfielder during the first half of his career with a powerful arm, winning three straight Gold Glove Awards during his prime. From 1975 to 1979, he threw out 72 runners, including 26 in 1977. In , Parker was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He died 29 days before he was to be inducted.
Early life
David Gene Parker was born in Grenada, Mississippi, on June 9, 1951, and grew up in Cincinnati near Crosley Field, where he learned to play baseball on the stadium's parking lots.
| access-date = June 28, 2025
| access-date = March 31, 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141006173203/http://www2.cincinnati.com/blogs/recruiting/2012/03/09/dave-parker-looking-forward-to-cps-induction/ | archive-date = October 6, 2014 | url-status = dead | access-date = June 30, 2025 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250701031743/https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Dave-Parker/ | archive-date = July 1, 2025 | url-status = live
Playing career
Pittsburgh Pirates
Parker commenced his Major League Baseball career in 1973, when the Pittsburgh Pirates elevated him from the minor leagues. | access-date = June 30, 2025 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250630001540/https://apnews.com/article/dave-parker-dead-pirates-a9345f450d4282d24608753cb62c5907 | archive-date = June 30, 2025 | url-status = live | access-date = June 30, 2025 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20140602201048/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1136759/3/index.htm | archive-date = June 2, 2014 | url-status = usurped
He achieved these statistics despite a collision with John Stearns at home plate during a game against the New York Mets on June 30, 1978, in which he sustained a fractured jaw and cheekbone. A specially crafted hockey mask allowed him to return in a little over two weeks. Because the mask hindered his ability to see pitches, he tried a series of modified football helmets with—and ultimately without—a facemask that he only wore when running the bases. The gear was controversial among opposing players because it enhanced his already imposing presence, and they feared being injured when defending against his unabated physical play. However, neither the league nor umpires disallowed it, and he continued using it until voluntarily giving it up in the early 1979 season. Over the years, a handful of major leaguers recovering from facial injuries adopted similar equipment, and masked-helmet use became common in Little League and high school baseball and softball. | access-date = January 25, 2025 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170704161952/https://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=lukas/080724 | archive-date = July 4, 2017 | url-status = live
The next year, Pirates rewarded him with a five-year deal that was American sports' first million-dollar-per-year contract. The increase over his reported $225,000 annual salary angered working-class Pittsburgh fans struggling with the declining coal and steel industries, who saw all millionaires as "pillars of greed." Six years later, now playing for Cincinnati, Parker said that hitting .310 with 25 homers and 94 RBI the prior season apparently wasn't enough for the money, with fans instead expecting a .330 average with 35 home runs and 124 RBI. Pitcher Kent Tekulve also recalled that fans "threw bags of nuts and bolts at him", batteries, live bullets—and in one instance, a souvenir bat. | access-date = June 30, 2025 | access-date = July 9, 2025 | access-date = July 9, 2025
Parker's power hitting resulted in an at-bat that "knocked the cover off the ball" upon landing in the outfield, complicating the subsequent attempt to return it to play. | access-date = June 30, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110101185928/http://www.thebaseballzealot.com/hall-of-fame/hof-09-dave-parker | archive-date = January 1, 2011 | url-status = live | access-date = June 30, 2025
In 1981, at a juncture in his career when he appeared poised to rank among the game's all-time greats, Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their seminal work, "The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time." | author1-link = Lawrence Ritter | author2-link = Donald Honig | url-access = registration
Despite his dominating offensive performance in the late 1970s, by the early 1980s, Parker's batting prowess waned due to sustained injuries, weight-related issues, and his escalating cocaine consumption. | access-date = June 28, 2025
| access-date = June 28, 2025
Later career
At the end of the 1983 season, Parker became a free agent and signed with the Cincinnati Reds on December 7, 1983.
| access-date = June 29, 2025
| access-date = June 29, 2025
| access-date = June 29, 2025 | access-date = June 28, 2025 | access-date = June 29, 2025 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060915113244/https://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/columnist/bodley/2004-03-04-bodley_x.htm | archive-date = September 15, 2006 | url-status = dead
After the 1987 season, Cincinnati traded Parker to the Oakland Athletics for José Rijo and Tim Birtsas on December 8, 1987. | access-date = June 29, 2025
After winning the 1989 World Series with Oakland, on December 3, 1989, Parker signed a two-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. | access-date = June 29, 2025 | access-date = June 29, 2025
Parker's last season was 1991. He played for the California Angels until late in the season before being released on September 7. | access-date = June 29, 2025
| access-date = June 29, 2025
| access-date = June 29, 2025
| access-date = June 29, 2025
| access-date = June 29, 2025 | access-date = June 29, 2025
| access-date = June 29, 2025
Career statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | TB | RBI | SB | BB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | FLD% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2466 | 9358 | 1272 | 2712 | 526 | 75 | 339 | 4405 | 1493 | 154 | 683 | .290 | .339 | .471 | .810 | .966 |
| Source: | title = Dave Parker | website = Baseball Reference | publisher = Sports Reference, LLC | year = 2025 | url = https://baseball-reference.com/players/p/parkeda01.shtml | access-date = June 28, 2025 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250519072250/https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/parkeda01.shtml | archive-date = May 19, 2025 | url-status = live | title = Dave Parker | website = Retrosheet | location = Newark, Delaware | year = 2025 | url = https://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/P/Pparkd001.htm | access-date = June 28, 2025 |
In 30 postseason games, Parker batted .234 (26-for-111) with 11 runs, five doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI, and seven walks.
Post-retirement, personal life, and death
Parker served as a first-base coach for the Anaheim Angels in 1997, a batting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1998. He was elected to the Reds Hall of Fame Class of 2014, which also included fellow Cincinnati natives Ron Oester and Ken Griffey Jr.
| access-date = June 1, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140103200917/http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20131203&content_id=64366744&vkey=pr_cin&c_id=cin | archive-date = January 3, 2014 | url-status = dead
| access-date = March 14, 2025 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170907201329/https://magallanesbbc.com.ve/salon.php | archive-date = September 7, 2017 | url-status = live | access-date = July 1, 2025 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20250701145822/https://www.mlb.com/news/pressing-mlb-questions-july-2025 | archive-date = July 1, 2025 | url-status = live
Parker never got more than 24% of votes on Baseball Hall of Fame ballots, and his 15-year Baseball Writers' Association of America eligibility was exhausted on the ballot. Supporters of Parker's candidacy argue that his involvement with the Pittsburgh drug trials contributed to his not being voted into the Hall of Fame, which may have also harmed the candidacies of Keith Hernandez (who never received more than 10.8% and fell off the writers' ballot after nine appearances) and Tim Raines (who was not elected until his 10th year on the ballot, after debuting at 24.3%), serving as a precursor to those listed on the Mitchell Report not being voted into the Hall of Fame due to steroid abuse. | access-date = June 30, 2025 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150925053604/http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2013-01-09/baseball-hall-of-fame-vote-results-bonds-clemens-peds-biggio-morris | archive-date = September 25, 2015 | url-status=dead }} | access-date = July 1, 2025 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120301051405/http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101118&content_id=16154154&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb | archive-date = March 1, 2012 | url-status = dead He appeared on the Classic Baseball Era Committee's ballot and was elected with 87.5% of the vote (appearing on 14 of 16 ballots) on December 8, 2024. He was scheduled to be inducted on July 27, 2025; however, he died 29 days before this took place. | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20250306214337/https://apnews.com/article/parker-allen-hall-of-fame-d61102d2b61630c1ce6b3ca1a357f2d3 | archive-date = March 6, 2025 | url-status = live
Parker had six children. He lived in Loveland, Ohio, near Cincinnati, with his wife, Kellye. | access-date = June 28, 2025 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141030145427/http://www.espn1530.com/onair/lance-mcalister-7818/former-red-cincinnati-legend-dave-parker-11548469/ | archive-date = October 30, 2014 | url-status = dead | access-date = June 28, 2025 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120711092516/http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/12/31/story4.html | archive-date = July 11, 2012 | url-status = live | access-date = June 29, 2025 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20250629230302/https://archive.triblive.com/sports/tim-benz-breakfast-with/starkey-ex-pirates-slugger-parker-is-coping-with-parkinsons/%23axzz2bBvUri86 | archive-date = June 29, 2025 | url-status = live | access-date = July 18, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180718030708/https://www.mlb.com/news/dave-parker-doesnt-let-parkinsons-stop-him/c-221635114 | archive-date = July 18, 2018 | url-status = live
Parker died from complications of Parkinson's disease on June 28, 2025, at the age of 74.
References
References
- Goldstein, Richard. (June 28, 2025). "Dave Parker, Power Hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Dies at 74". [[The New York Times]].
- (November 4, 2024). "Classic Baseball Era Committee Candidates Announced".
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