Dave Parker (baseball player)
| Dave Parker | |||
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Parker during his time with the Oakland Athletics
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| Right fielder / Designated hitter | |||
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Born: June 9, 1951 Calhoun, Mississippi |
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| MLB debut | |||
| July 12, 1973, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| October 2, 1991, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .290 | ||
| Hits | 2,712 | ||
| Home runs | 339 | ||
| Runs batted in | 1,493 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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David Gene Parker (born June 9, 1951), nicknamed "The Cobra", is an American former player in Major League Baseball. He was the 1978 National League MVP and a two-time batting champion. Parker was the first professional athlete to earn an average of one million dollars per year, having signed a five-year, $5 million contract in January 1979. Parker's career achievements include 2712 hits, 339 home runs, 1493 runs batted in and a lifetime batting average of .290. Parker was also known as a solid defensive outfielder during the first half of his career, with a powerful arm, winning three consecutive Gold Gloves during his prime. From 1975 to 1979, he threw out 72 runners, including 26 in 1977.
He was a baseball All-Star in 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, and 1990. In the 1979 All-Star Game, Parker showcased his defensive ability and powerful arm by throwing out Jim Rice at third base and Angels catcher Brian Downing at home. Parker also contributed an RBI on a sacrifice fly and was named the game's MVP.
Parker grew up in Cincinnati near Crosley Field, where he learned to play baseball on the stadium's parking lots. His father, Dick Parker, was a shipping clerk in a foundry. Dave Parker attended Courter Tech High School. He has said his favorite sport was football, and he starred at tailback but injured a knee in a game during his senior year and gave up the game. Also a baseball star, one of his fondest memories is playing at Western Hills High School (alma mater of Pete Rose), where he hit a home run that landed on the roof of a Frisch's restaurant.
In the early 1970s, as a member of the Pirates AAA minor league ball team Charleston (WV) Charlies, Parker hit a home run that landed on a coal car on a passing train and the ball was later picked up in Columbus, Ohio. He began his major league career on July 12, 1973 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, for whom he played from 1973 to 1983.
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