{"id":103075,"date":"2025-06-28T18:54:24","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T22:54:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=103075"},"modified":"2025-06-28T18:54:24","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T22:54:24","slug":"two-time-batting-champ-mvp-dave-parker-died-age-74","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/06\/28\/two-time-batting-champ-mvp-dave-parker-died-age-74\/","title":{"rendered":"Two-Time Batting Champ and MVP Dave Parker Passes Away"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/parkeda01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-06-28_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dave Parker<\/a>, owner of two batting titles, a Most Valuable Player Award, and two World Series rings, has died. He was 74 years old and had suffered from Parkinson\u2019s Disease in recent years. Parker was scheduled to be <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/12\/08\/allen-parker-hall-of-fame\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">inducted<\/a> into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 27. Along with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/allendi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-06-28_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dick Allen<\/a>, he was elected by the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/11\/23\/dave-parker-hall-of-fame-consideration\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Classic Baseball Era Committee<\/a> last December. Now both will be inducted posthumously.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_103100\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-103100\" style=\"width: 512px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-103100\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26552131_168400885_lowres-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26552131_168400885_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26552131_168400885_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26552131_168400885_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26552131_168400885_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26552131_168400885_lowres-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26552131_168400885_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26552131_168400885_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-103100\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The City of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Reds recognized Reds hall of fame baseball player Dave Parker, center, with an honorary street naming near his childhood home in the South Cumminsville neighborhood of Cincinnati, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. Borden Street at Elmore Street received the honorary, secondary name of Dave Parker Way<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Two-Time Batting Champion, MVP Dave Parker Has Died<\/h2>\n<p>Parker played in the major leagues for 19 years with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1973-83), Cincinnati Reds (1984-87), Oakland Athletics (1988-89), Milwaukee Brewers (1990), California Angels (1991), and Toronto Blue Jays (1991). For his career, he hit .290\/.339\/.471, 339 HR, 1,493 RBI, and 121 OPS+ while stealing 154 bases. Parker was at his best as a Pirate, winning two consecutive National League batting titles in 1977 and 1978, the NL MVP Award in 1978, and three Gold Glove Awards for his play in right field. He was a seven-time All-Star, including in 1979 when he was MVP of the All-Star Game. He was on World Series winners with Pittsburgh in 1979 and Oakland in 1989.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Hall of Famer Dave Parker.<\/p>\n<p>A legendary Pirate, Parker spent 11 years in a Pirates uniform, winning 2 batting titles, an MVP award and a World Series Championship in 1979.<\/p>\n<p>The Cobra was part of the inaugural Pirates Hall of Fame\u2026 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UuikGxw6dI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/UuikGxw6dI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Pirates\/status\/1939051594710163857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 28, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>At six-foot-five, 235 pounds in his playing days, Parker was an imposing figure. He was called up to make his major league debut with Pittsburgh on July 12, 1973. When he entered the clubhouse in San Diego on that day, Pirates shortstop <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/maxvida01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-06-28_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dal Maxvill<\/a> said, \u201cI don\u2019t know what he does or who he is, but I\u2019m glad he\u2019s on our side.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Parker was considered the best all-around player in the game from 1975-79. In those years, he hit .321\/.377\/.532, 114 HR, and 490 RBI, stealing 84 bases, and accumulating 31.1 of his 40.1 career WAR. Parker had 72 outfield assists and was worth 42 Fielding Runs Above Average. (Defensive Runs Saved were not available in those ancient times.) He also committed 66 errors during that period. He led the NL in outfield errors in 1975 and the majors in 1976-79. That\u2019s because Parker played right field like a madman. He tried to make plays nobody else would try. As a result, he led the NL in putouts in four of those seasons. Baserunners who dared challenge the arm of Parker frequently died on the bases.<\/p>\n<h3>The Cobra<\/h3>\n<p>Nothing typified Parker\u2019s approach to the game like the night of June 30, 1978, against the New York Mets at Three Rivers Stadium. The Pirates bullpen had squandered a 3-2 lead and surrendered four runs in the top of the ninth. Parker\u2019s one-out, two-run triple in the bottom of the ninth inning brought the Pirates within a run at 6-5. The next batter, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/robinbi02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-06-28_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bill Robinson<\/a>, hit a fly ball to shallow right field. Parker tagged and sprinted toward home. Mets right fielder <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/y\/youngjo02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-06-28_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joel Youngblood<\/a> fired a strike to catcher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/stearjo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-06-28_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">John Stearns<\/a>, beating Parker to the plate by several feet. Parker, a high school football star in Cincinnati, lowered his shoulder and collided with Stearns, damn near knocking him into next week.<\/p>\n<p>I was there, in a seat high above first base. I swear I could feel the collision in my seat. Stearns miraculously hung on to the ball. The Mets had a victory, and Parker had a broken cheekbone. It didn\u2019t slow down the player known as \u201cthe Cobra.\u201d Parker remained in the lineup the rest of the season. First, he tried a hockey goalie mask. Later, he switched to a specially designed batting helmet with a face mask.<\/p>\n<h3>Controversy<\/h3>\n<p>Parker\u2019s time in Pittsburgh wasn\u2019t without controversy. The steel mills were closing, and folks who were out of work couldn\u2019t relate to a brash Black man who had become baseball\u2019s first million-dollar player. He had objects thrown at him from the stands, including a battery. An accumulation of injuries due to his reckless play over the years had taken their toll, too. From 1981-83, he hit just .272\/.310\/.430 and wasn\u2019t the same outfielder. By then, it had become time to move on.<\/p>\n<p>Once his career in Pittsburgh had died, there were flashes of the old Parker. Rejuvenated in his hometown, in 1985, the Cobra hit .312\/.365\/.551, 42 HR, and an NL-leading 125 RBI for the Reds. With the A\u2019s in 1989, he complemented the \u201cBash Brothers\u201d well, hitting .264\/.308\/.432, 22 HR, and 97 RBI, en route to his second World Series ring. During this period, his reputation took a hit when he was embroiled in baseball\u2019s cocaine scandal in 1987. He owned up to his mistake and returned to Pittsburgh often in retirement, being welcomed as a conquering hero each time.<\/p>\n<h3>Our Loss That Dave Parker Died<\/h3>\n<p>Parker\u2019s book, <a href=\"https:\/\/throughthefencebaseball.com\/book-review-cobra-by-dave-parker\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Cobra: A Life of Baseball and Brotherhood<\/em><\/a>, is one of the best books written by an athlete that this writer has ever read. It concentrated on his time with the Pirates and Reds. At the end of the book, he promised there would be a sequel, beginning with his time with the A\u2019s. When Parker learned of his Hall of Fame selection, he told the MLB Network, \u201cI\u2019ve been holding this speech for 15 years.\u201d Our loss that we won\u2019t get to read that second book or hear that speech.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: \u00a9 Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dave Parker, owner of two batting titles, a Most Valuable Player Award, and two World Series rings, has died. He was 74 years old and had suffered from Parkinson\u2019s Disease in recent years. Parker was scheduled to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 27. Along with Dick Allen, he was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5010,"featured_media":103099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,4454,1071,35],"tags":[5260,3199,5412,5261,5262],"class_list":["post-103075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pirates","category-baseball-history","category-mlb","category-news","tag-bill-robinson","tag-dave-parker","tag-dick-allen","tag-joel-youngblood","tag-john-stearns"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5010"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103075"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103101,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103075\/revisions\/103101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}