Dave Parker: Best, Worst, Outliers, and Oddities

Issue #208

The two latest Baseball Hall of Famers are Dick Allen (1963-1977) and Dave Parker (1973-1991). On Sunday it was announced that of the eight candidates on the ballot of the Classic Baseball Era Committee, Dave Parker had gotten 14 out of 16 votes and Allen received 13 out of 16 votes (12 or more votes were needed). This committee considers players whose biggest playing accomplishments came prior to 1980. The other candidates this time around were Tommy John, Ken Boyer, Luis Tiant, Steve Garvey, and old-timer Negro Leagues players John Donaldson and Vic Harris.

I intend to look at Dick Allen’s career in a forthcoming article, but here I’ll focus on Dave “The Cobra” Parker. I was a bit surprised that Parker made it, as he didn’t really come close the three other times his name was included in such committee ballots in 2014, 2018, and 2020 (when he received 43.8% of the vote). On the BBWAA ballot from 1997-2011 his vote tallies ranged from 10.3% to a high of 24.5%.

That said, I’m not upset or against his inclusion. I’m a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, and Parker had many of his best years for the Pirates—specifically when I was first a baseball fan in the late 1970s and early 1980s. While Willie Stargell, and then Bill Madlock and Kent Tekulve were my favorite Pirates players during those years, I have some Dave Parker memorabilia on my shelf too (including a classic Pirates cap with both his and Madlock’s autograph from a sports card show I went to many years ago.)

And if he was going to become a Hall of Famer, I’m glad it has happened while he is still alive and can appreciate it. My understanding is that he is not in good health, as he is 73 and has had Parkinson’s Disease for over 10 years—but I hope he can make it to inauguration weekend next summer.

As with some other players, I’ve done a little digging into Parker’s career numbers. So this is the latest installment in my series of player profiles titled “Best, Worst, Outliers, and Oddities.”

Standard Numbers and Accolades

Before I get to that more unique analysis, here are some of the standard numbers and accolades that reviews of Dave Parker’s playing career usually include:

• Parker is best known for his slugging at the plate and strong arm in right field.

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