Parker, "Dave" (David G.)
Baseball
b. June 9, 1951, Calhoun, MS
During the late 1970s, Parker was establishing himself as possibly the best player in baseball. At 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, he could hit for average and power, was an excellent defensive outfielder with a strong arm, and had enough speed to steal 20 bases. Then injuries struck.
He was a part-time player with the NL's Pittsburgh Pirates in 1973 and 1974, then became a full-time starter in 1975 and batted .308. After hitting .313 in 1976, Parker won two consecutive batting titles. In 1977, he hit .338 and he also led the league with 215 hits and 44 doubles.
Parker was rewarded with the largest salary in baseball history up to that time, $900,000 a year for five years. He responded by winning the league's most valuable player award, leading in hitting again with a .334 average, in slugging with a .585 percentage, and also hitting 30 home runs with 117 RBI.
After hitting .310 in 1979 and .295 in 1980, Parker went down with a knee problem and played a total of only 140 games in the next two seasons. He was never the same player after that, although he still had some fine years. He batted .279 with only 12 home runs in 1983 and went to the Cincinnati Reds as a free agent in 1984.
A right-handed thrower but left-handed hitter, Parker batted .312 in 1985, led the league with 42 doubles and 125 RBI, and had 34 home runs. He hit 31 home runs and had 116 RBI the following season, but hit only .273, and he slipped to .253 in 1987.
He was traded to the Oakland Athletics in 1988, when he played in only 110 games, mostly as a designated hitter, because of recurring knee problems. In 1989, he hit 22 home runs and had 97 RBI, batting .649. Parker had one last good season with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1990, when he hit .289 with 21 home runs and 92 RBI. But he was batting only .232 for the California Angels late in the 1991 season, when he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. He retired after that season.
In 19 major-league seasons, Parker batted .290 with 2,712 hits, including 526 doubles, 75 triples, and 339 home runs. He stole 154 bases, scored 1,272 runs, and had 1,493 RBI.