Dave Parker Helped My Love of Baseball

The world knows by now that Hall of Famer Dave Parker has died at age 74 from Parkinson’s disease. If you watched the excellent 2019 documentary by MLB Network, “The Cobra at Twilight”, you know that he had been battling the disease for a long time. While it is tremendous that Parker was able to field the call that granted him induction into Cooperstown, it is tragic that he will not be there in person next month for enshrinement. I can honestly say that although most of his best seasons came before I turned 10, he was an influential player that grew my love for the game of baseball.

You see, my earliest baseball memory was that of the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates World Series Championship team. Dave Parker (or Willie Stargell, take your pick)was the best player on that team. I love the song, “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge, which was the Pirates’ theme song for that season. To this day, whenever I hear that song, all I can think of his PArker, STargell and one heck of a baseball team. In the summer of 1980, I attended the Paul Blair Baseball Camp and I remember watching the video of that World Series. Parker was the guy with the big arm in right field and who was an intimidating player to face when he was at the plate. Growing up, it just FELT like he was the best right fielder in the game, and not only that, the best player in all of baseball. He did everything well, hit, hit for power, play Gold Glove defense and steal bases. I know there was a little bit of a gap in production those final years in Pittsburgh. However, when he joined the Cincinnati Reds, he looked like the old Cobra, finishing second in the MVP voting in 1985 and then fifth in 1986. Parker won a second World Series championship as a member of the Oakland A’s. He was a big time player throughout my childhood and into high school. I always supported his candidacy for the Hall of Fame.

So why did it take over 30 years after his retirement for Dave Parker to get into the Hall of Fame? I think the first reason was his admission of both his use of cocaine and his introducing of a drug dealer in the Pirates’ clubhouse. This shocking testimony came during the infamous Pittsburgh Drug Trials of 1985, a scandal that rocked baseball as much as the steroid testimony did two decades later. The second was his overall numbers. He did not reach any of the milestone numbers needed for a 19 year playing career. Although he was unquestionably one of the five best players of his era, his “dominance” was not for a long enough period of time for the voters. I think Parker would have been inducted sooner had he decided to stop playing after winning his second championship ring. Short periods of dominance has to count for something; so does championships with two different teams. Parker’s induction may pave the way for another favorite of mine rowing up, Dale Murphy.

I am happy Dave Parker left this Earth knowing he made the Hall of Fame. It’s a shame he will not get his plaque in person. I will always remember him as an important of my baseball upbringing. Rest in peace, Cobra.