Top 5 Hall Of Fame Tribute: Dave Parker

“I’ve been holding this speech in for 15 years.” - Dave Parker, on the MLB Network after learning of his Hall of Fame selection.

 

Life just isn't fair sometimes. The wait was so long for Dave Parker. 15 years on the Hall of Fame ballot, without ever getting above 25%. 3 Veterans Committee ballots between 2012-2023, never getting more than 7 of the 12 votes required for induction.  Finally, just this past year, he made it. "The Cobra" was a Hall of Famer. Sadly, just one month before we got to hear that speech he had been holding onto, Dave Parker passed away on June 28th. Unlike his fellow inductee Dick Allen, at least he got to experience the thrill of getting the call.

 

As it were, I was beginning to prep my Top 5 tributes to this year's Hall of Fame class, so I was already looking at my collection of Dave Parker cards. Sadly, his Hall of Fame tribute is now a rest in peace tribute. Here are 5 of my favorite Dave Parker cards in my collection, chronologically in order.

 

1978 Topps

#560 Dave Parker (AS) 

 

In the late 70's, Dave Parker was one of the best players in all of baseball. He did it all - back to back batting titles, 3 Gold Gloves, an MVP in 1978 and a World Championship the following year. He was a star, but once he got paid like one, the blue collar town of Pittsburgh turned on him. Good seasons weren't good enough for a million dollar player, and got so bad that he skipped the World Series parade. Injuries, weight gain, and off the field issues made it so bad that one Pittsburgh beat writer wrote: "If Parker ran for mayor unopposed, he’d lose in a landslide.”

 

1987 Topps

#600 Dave Parker (AS, LL)

After the 1983 season, Parker signed as a free agent with his hometown team, the Cincinnati Reds. Although his tenure there was overshadowed by his involvement in the scandalous "Pittsburgh Drug Trials", Parker's career bounced back, with a couple of Top 5 MVP finishes, including a 2nd place finish in 1985. 

 

1988 Topps American Baseball (UK Minis)

#55 Dave Parker

Parker was traded to the Athletics prior to the 1988 season, and in 1989 he won his second World Series ring. He earned MVP votes that season and one his 1st Edgar Martinez Award as baseball's best Designated Hitter.

 

1991 Bowman

#375 Dave Parker (SS) 

 

He won the award again the following year as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. He also won his 3rd Silver Slugger, as well as his 7th All-Star Game selection.

 

1991 Upper Deck

#733 Dave Parker 

 

The Brewers traded him to the Angels after that season, where he paired up with another Hall of Famer named Dave, Dave Winfield. The 40-year old Parker was released in September, and signed on a week later with the Toronto Blue Jays, where he finished the final 13 games of his career batting .333 and helping the Blue jays secure the AL East. 

 

Dave Parker's Baseball Reference page reads like a Hall of Famer: 1978 MVP, 2 batting titles, 3 Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers, a 7 time All-Star (winning the ASG MVP in 1979 because of not one but two dynamic fielding plays), and a 2-time Champion. The health and weight issues he had in the early 80's, along with cocaine usage, kept him from getting into the Hall until this past year. 

 

Rest In Peace, Mr. Parker. The Hall of Fame will always have a place for "The Cobra".