Dave Parker, the longtime Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder who stepped into the daunting role of replacing baseball legend Roberto Clemente after his tragic death in 1972, died on June 28 at the age of 74 following a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Parker, who will enter the Hall of Fame in July after being selected to enter in December 2024, finished his career just shy of reaching 3,000 hits, often the benchmark for a player to enter Baseball’s Hall of Fame, but his other bullet points on the resume, like a National League MVP Award, two batting titles, and three gold gloves are impressive. As a footnote, Parker was the inaugural winner of the Home Run Derby in 1985, the Derby has since become a centerpiece of baseball’s All Star Game festivities.
According to a press release from Major League Baseball, Parker’s career numbers are solid; he compiled 2,712 hits during his career, batting .290 while hitting 339 home runs and producing 1,493 runs across 19 seasons from 1973-1991. He also won two World Series, a decade apart, and was a key part of the Willie “Pops” Stargell led “We Are Family” version of the Pittsburgh Pirates, arguably their most successful incarnation.
“Dave Parker was a gifted all-around player whose numerous accomplishments led to his upcoming induction in Cooperstown this summer,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in the press release. “He was a World Series Champion with the 1979 Pirates and the 1989 Athletics, a beloved All-Star Red in his hometown of Cincinnati, and an All-Star in Milwaukee. Dave was also a three-time Gold Glover on the strength of his famous arm, a two-time batting champion, and the winner of the inaugural Home Run Derby in 1985. All of us throughout the game are deeply saddened by this loss. We will remember the Cobra forever, especially as his name soon officially joins the legends of our National Pastime. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my sympathy to Dave’s family and his fans across the game.”
Although Parker was given the unenviable task of replacing Clemente, a man whose legend is near that of Jackie Roosevelt Robinson in terms of his impact off the field, he did an admirable job, and as Omar Moreno, a teammate of Parker’s in Pittsburgh, told The Athletic, he was at least comparable to the play of Clemente, no easy feat.
“He reminded me of Clemente,” Moreno told the outlet.
Parker, a brash, confident player, was often compared to Muhammad Ali for his quotes sometimes given in couplet form, like “When the leaves turn brown, I’ll be wearing the batting crown,” Parker also carries the distinction of being the first player to earn a $1 million salary, and was one of the first professional athletes to wear an earring in his ear, now a common sight.
According to The Athletic, Parker also acknowledged the 1985 drug trial alleging that he was part of a cocaine ring that was active in the clubhouse at Three Rivers Stadium, the former home of the Pirates franchise. In the trial, Parker was said to be a “regular user” of the drug, and he and other players caught up in the scandal received a one-year suspension from the MLB that was later converted into fines.
“I’m pretty satisfied with my career,” Parker said in 2019. “I made one mistake, which was the 1985 (drug) trial. That’s the only mark against me. But even with all that going on, I played hard and at a high level under all that pressure.”
That was considered to be a slight against Parker, with many in the baseball world believing that it was what had kept him from getting the call to Cooperstown from the Baseball Writers Association of America, whose ballot he spent the maximum of 15 years on, before being moved to the Modern Baseball Era ballot where alongside Dick Allen, he received the necessary votes to get in.
“We join the baseball family in remembering Dave Parker,” Hall of Fame Chairman of the Board Jane Forbes Clark said in a press release. “His legacy will be one of courage and leadership, matched only by his outstanding accomplishments on the field. His election to the Hall of Fame in December brought great joy to him, his family and all the fans who marveled at his remarkable abilities. We will honor his incredible life and career at next month’s Induction Ceremony in Cooperstown, where his legacy will be remembered forever.”
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