Parker elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame
And there it is. Finally. All these years later, Dave Parker is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the Classic Baseball Era ballot. Parker was one of two inductees announced Sunday night, joining Dick Allen as candidates who received the necessary votes on 75 percent of the ballots. Parker was named on 14 of 16 ballots.
When he was playing in his prime, Parker said Sunday he "without a doubt" believed he would become a major-league player, one with Hall of Fame potential.
"When the leaves turn brown, I'll be wearing the batting crown. That was one of my sayings, so I always thought that I was going to be a major-leaguer," Parker said. "I told my mother at 8 years old that I would be a baseball star and one day buy a house. Well, I did that in '78. I got that done. I knew I would be a major-leaguer."
Parker, who spent 11 of his 19 big-league seasons with the Pirates and won a World Series with the team's famed 'Fam-a-lee' in 1979, will be the 45th former player, manager or executive in the Hall who spent some or all of their careers with the Pirates. He will be the 14th person to enter the Hall who spent the majority of his career with the Pirates, joining Jake Beckley, Max Carey, Fred Clarke, Roberto Clemente, Ralph Kiner, Bill Mazeroski, Willie Stargell, Pie Traynor, Arky Vaughan, Honus Wagner, Lloyd and Paul Waner, and owner Barney Dreyfuss.
Parker hit .290 with 339 home runs and 1,493 RBIs in his career. Over a five-year span from 1975 to 1979, Parker’s 345 extra-base hits trailed only Jim Rice and Mike Schmidt. His 942 hits in that span ranked sixth behind Pete Rose, Steve Garvey, Rice, Rod Carew and George Brett while his .321 batting average ranked second to Carew. In addition, he led MLB with 72 outfield assists during that five-year period.
Parker was the 1978 National League MVP, a seven-time All-Star, two-time batting champion, three-time Gold Glove Award winner, three-time Silver Slugger and two-time World Series champion (1979, 1989). Still, he fell short of being elected to the Hall of Fame via the Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot, as well as a few other committee ballots. Until now.
“As a player, I want to be remembered as a guy that threw it all on the field," Parker said. "Because I never trotted to first base, I don’t know if people noticed that. But, I ran hard on every play. So, I enjoyed playing in front of the New York fanbase, Philadelphia, anywhere. Now, I always got their respect because I played it like it should have been played: Hard.”
The induction ceremony will take place July 27, 2025, in Cooperstown, N.Y.
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THE ASYLUM
José Negron
7:38 pm - 12.08.2024DallasParker elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame
And there it is. Finally. All these years later, Dave Parker is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the Classic Baseball Era ballot. Parker was one of two inductees announced Sunday night, joining Dick Allen as candidates who received the necessary votes on 75 percent of the ballots. Parker was named on 14 of 16 ballots.
When he was playing in his prime, Parker said Sunday he "without a doubt" believed he would become a major-league player, one with Hall of Fame potential.
"When the leaves turn brown, I'll be wearing the batting crown. That was one of my sayings, so I always thought that I was going to be a major-leaguer," Parker said. "I told my mother at 8 years old that I would be a baseball star and one day buy a house. Well, I did that in '78. I got that done. I knew I would be a major-leaguer."
Parker, who spent 11 of his 19 big-league seasons with the Pirates and won a World Series with the team's famed 'Fam-a-lee' in 1979, will be the 45th former player, manager or executive in the Hall who spent some or all of their careers with the Pirates. He will be the 14th person to enter the Hall who spent the majority of his career with the Pirates, joining Jake Beckley, Max Carey, Fred Clarke, Roberto Clemente, Ralph Kiner, Bill Mazeroski, Willie Stargell, Pie Traynor, Arky Vaughan, Honus Wagner, Lloyd and Paul Waner, and owner Barney Dreyfuss.
Parker hit .290 with 339 home runs and 1,493 RBIs in his career. Over a five-year span from 1975 to 1979, Parker’s 345 extra-base hits trailed only Jim Rice and Mike Schmidt. His 942 hits in that span ranked sixth behind Pete Rose, Steve Garvey, Rice, Rod Carew and George Brett while his .321 batting average ranked second to Carew. In addition, he led MLB with 72 outfield assists during that five-year period.
Parker was the 1978 National League MVP, a seven-time All-Star, two-time batting champion, three-time Gold Glove Award winner, three-time Silver Slugger and two-time World Series champion (1979, 1989). Still, he fell short of being elected to the Hall of Fame via the Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot, as well as a few other committee ballots. Until now.
“As a player, I want to be remembered as a guy that threw it all on the field," Parker said. "Because I never trotted to first base, I don’t know if people noticed that. But, I ran hard on every play. So, I enjoyed playing in front of the New York fanbase, Philadelphia, anywhere. Now, I always got their respect because I played it like it should have been played: Hard.”
The induction ceremony will take place July 27, 2025, in Cooperstown, N.Y.
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