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6 hours ago
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'More respect for Dave Parker than anybody': Baseball greats remember Cincinnati legend
Just how powerful was the 6-foot-5, 230-pound force of nature they called 'The Cobra' back in the day? Powerful enough that long before Cincinnati legend Dave Parker, who died at the age of 74 Saturday, June 28, won his own long-awaited place in baseball's Hall of Fame, he helped open the path for another Cincinnati-raised player to reach Cooperstown. Advertisement And just maybe powerful enough that his lasting impact helped the Reds win a championship three years after he last played for them. Just ask Barry Larkin, the Cincinnati-born Hall of Fame shortstop, about the night Parker and the young Eric Davis backed him into the dimly lit corner of the Riverfront Stadium tunnel near the Reds' batting cage. Hall of Famers Barry Larkin and Dave Parker before a game in 1987. 'They told me after a game one day they wanted to work on my hitting out in the cages,' said Larkin, a happy-to-be-there, third shortstop on manager Pete Rose's team. So Larkin grabbed his bat after the game, headed out the clubhouse door and turned the corner to the cage, only to find a hallway so dim and quiet it looked empty. Advertisement Reds Dave Parker death Pittsburgh Pirate Dave Parker, ex-Reds/Pirates great, dies 1 month before Hall of Fame induction: reactions Reds San Diego Padres Andrew Abbott Andrew Abbott bolstered his case for the MLB All-Star Game but the Reds lost to the Padres 'So I start walking back into the clubhouse,' he said. Then came a voice from the shadows. 'Dave Parker says, 'No, m—-, bring your a— out here!' Larkin trudged toward the voice, heart racing, to where Parker and Davis waited. 'They impressed upon me that I needed to start playing with more of a sense of urgency,' Larkin said, 'and they impressed upon me that if I did not change and start playing with more of a sense of urgency that it was going to be a major problem physically for me.' Advertisement At which point Parker dismissed him abruptly with a few more choice words. 'I walked in the clubhouse,' Larkin said, 'and was like, 'Oh, my God. What in the world is going on here?' ' The next day he approached Davis — 'not Dave because I was scared as crap of Dave' — to make sure he had the details he needed to follow the orders he couldn't refuse. Most of it had to do with a more aggressive approach at the plate. Barely a year later, Larkin was an All-Star. Cincinnati Reds teammates Eric Davis, left, Dave Parker and Kal Daniels warming up before their exhibition game against Montreal Expos at Greer Stadium April 5, 1987. 'That was a tipping point in my career,' he said. 'I was just happy to be along (until then). Until those boys threatened my life.' Parker's impact was sudden and so outsized when he joined his hometown team as a free agent after the 1983 season that Davis called him "Pops" and Larkin called him one of the three most influential forces that helped that young core develop into what became the 1990 World Series champion – after all were gone. That included Rose and veteran outfielder Ken Griffey. Advertisement Larkin shouted out Parker's bigger than life influence during his Hall of Fame speech in 2012. New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza pauses for a moment of silence to honor Pittsburgh Pirates former Hall of Fame right fielder Dave Parker on his passing before the game against the Pirates at PNC Park Saturday, June 28. But Parker was bigger than life to those who played long before he contributed to his hometown team for four years. He was one of the most feared hitters in baseball in the 1970s, with a hitting prowess matched only by the strength of his charisma and personality, and a right-field arm for the ages. Contemporaries who openly questioned what took so long for him to get elected to the Hall of Fame just six months ago now grapple with the cruelty of his death Saturday after a long illness coming just one month before he might have enjoyed the glow of his Cooperstown induction. Advertisement 'I ended up playing with Dave twice, here and Milwaukee, and I grew up in Pittsburgh watching him,' said Reds manager Terry Francona, who learned of Parker's death just before game time Saturday. 'I know he was sick; we all did. But I wished he could have been in Cooperstown this summer to get his Hall of Fame plaque. I know how I felt about it. I can't imagine how he would have.' JULY 11, 1976: The Pirates' Dave Parker slides into third base advancing from first on double in fifth inning against the Reds. He comes up, signals time to retrieve his lost cap, then is sent sprawling as Pete Rose bowls him over with a late tag. Never mind why the recognition took so long. 'The superstar players of that era all knew how good he was,' said All-Star closer Kent Tekulve, another Cincinnati native who was Parker's teammate in Pittsburgh and a one-time Red in the immediate aftermath of Parker's time at Riverfront. Advertisement 'What I didn't know when he went from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati with all those young guys on that team, he became the guy,' Tekulve said. 'He became the Stargell of the Cincinnati Reds when he went there. 'He was already gone when I got there. And they were still talking about what Dave Parker meant to them.' 'I had more respect for Dave Parker than probably anybody,' said Paul O'Neill, who debuted in 1985 and went on to become a five-time All-Star. 'When I got called up he was the right fielder, and I was on the bench watching how he went about things. He was a great player; there's no other way to put it. He was the kind of guy that would talk to the younger players. 'It's certainly well deserved he's in the Hall of Fame. I don't know why it took so long.' Advertisement Even in failing health in December, Parker — who battled Parkinson's Disease for more than a decade — showed the power of his personality during a conference call with media up on his election, saying what he remembers of the time with the Reds was 'I was the best player they had.' 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 He got no argument from Davis, even if that was long after Parker's days of his batting titles, his 1978 MVP and the days of swinging a sledgehammer in the on-deck circle in Pittsburgh. "He was the best player. Oh, yeah,' Davis said. 'I was 21 years old when we had just gotten him from Pittsburgh in '84, and I can remember the first time I saw him I was still in awe. I went up to introduce myself, and the first thing he said was, 'I know who you are. Get out of the way; I'll talk to you a little later.' Advertisement 'That was his way of breaking the ice. But he took care of me. I didn't pay for anything for two years. I didn't buy nothing. He took me everywhere. The only thing I had to do was I had to be the first one down to the limo because he wouldn't wait.' That's the guy teammates remember even all these years later, the boisterous, fun, hard-hitting, hard-laughing giant. 'He was a hoot,' Tekulve said. Even in 1976 as a young player with Willie Stargell's Pirates, Parker showed up to the clubhouse one day with a T-shirt inspired by music he and teammates listened to, emblazoned with a slogan meant to inspire a briefly slumping lineup and that became an iconic part of his Pirates legacy: 'If You Hear Any Noise It's Just Me And The Boys Boppin.' Advertisement 'It caught on and people liked it,' Parker said in December. 'But don't try to copyright it. Because it's mine.' Whether his publicized role in the Pittsburgh drug trials of the 1980s or a media perception of his personality as brash or out of place for a young player – especially a young black player in 1970s baseball – impacted how long it took to get to the Hall of Fame, it was 33 days after he last played a game that he finally made it. 'I'm looking forward to being there. I've been holding this speech in for 15 years,' Parker said the day he finally got the call. He had just turned 74 when he died. Advertisement He didn't get to make his speech. But he did leave behind a generation indebted to him. 'He probably had more impact on young players than any player I've ever been around,' Davis said. 'Black, white, it didn't matter.' And at his size, 'to be able to move the way that he did with the cachet that he had — he made the game cool for Blacks,' Davis said. 'His game was swagger. He had a style and the cachet to back up his game.' It probably said a lot about his personality and character that he was able to succeed to the heights he did, not only as quickly as he did but also as the man who would replace the icon in Pittsburgh – Parker debuting as the right field heir apparent to the right fielder of all-time, Roberto Clemente, just months after Clemente's New Year's Eve 1972 death in a plane crash while on a humanitarian mission. Advertisement 'His ability was off the charts when he first showed up,' Tekulve said. The rare combination of elite ability and elite charisma might have made him the right guy at the right time in that right field. 'His personality, his confidence, his swagger — all that stuff really helped him in the beginning of his career,' Tekulve said. 'He came in after Clemente and not much dropped off. Definitely personality wise they were different.' The arm, maybe not quite as different. Francona said he remembers being a kid in Pittsburgh watching the Pirates' All-Star throw out runners at third and home during the 1979 All-Star game – the latter one of the most famous throws by an outfielder in the last half-decade. Advertisement 'Then to get to play with him, it's pretty cool,' Francona said. 'I caught him toward the end of his career. He was funny. You could mess with him — not too much.' The transformation from prospect without a chance to fill an all-time legend's shoes to superstar in his own right was almost as much a physical transformation as it was the power of will and public persuasion. 'When I first saw Dave Parker, he was not skinny like me, but he was thin. Well built but not the big man that he became,' Tekulve said. 'He'd hit a ball to the left side and beat it out.' At one point in Parker's early days in Pittsburgh, All-Star leader Willie 'Pops' Stargell looked at the skinny young outfielder and said, 'He's going to be bigger and stronger He needs to change his swing to put power into it.' Advertisement Parker, a natural line drive hitter, revamped his swing to drive the ball more and wound up not only winning batting titles but becoming one of the most feared sluggers in the game in his prime. His first full season in the majors, he hit .308 with 25 home runs and led the league in slugging in 1975. Two years later he won the first of back-to-back batting titles and earned the first of seven All-Star selections. By 1978, he was the National League MVP — snapping a streak of three straight years of Big Red Machine MVPs. 'His size, his tenacity — just a great baseball player,' O'Neill said. 'A great athlete, period.' Advertisement And by the time the Courter Tech grad returned to Cincinnati, he did it as a star and mentor, whether he was the best player on the team or not. 'He was the guy,' Larkin said. 'He set the tone in the clubhouse, how we prepared, how loose the clubhouse was. After the game, Dave was a big yapper. He liked to talk a lot. He had this football mentality and tried to inspire us with verbal cues.' Verbal cues. That's one way to describe the voice from the shadows of that Riverfront Stadium tunnel that night 40 years ago. And Larkin would know. 'He was amazing.' This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'More respect for Dave Parker than anybody': How 'Cobra' paid it forward
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Former Reds outfielder Dave Parker dies at 74
The Cincinnati Reds are mourning the loss of a former outfielder. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The team announced on social media that Cincinnati native Dave Parker died at 74 years old. Advertisement TRENDING STORIES: Our news partner, WCPO in Cincinnati, reported that his death was reported inside Great American Ball Park during the broadcast of Saturday's game between the Reds and the San Diego Padres. 'The Reds are heartbroken by the passing of Dave Parker,' the team said. 'Dave was a towering figure on the field, in the clubhouse, and in the Cincinnati community where his baseball journey began. Playing on the fields near his home and going to games at Crosley Field.' As previously reported by News Center 7, he was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in December. Parker is known for his years with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Advertisement He played for the Reds from 1984 until 1987. Parker was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2012. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
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a day ago
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Dave Parker, Baseball Hall of Famer and former NL MVP, dies at 74
Dave Parker won the 1978 National League MVP award with the Pittsburgh Pirates and won the World Series championship the following season. (AP Photo/File) Hall of Famer Dave Parker has died at the age of 74. The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Parker's death before their game on Saturday. Parker played for six teams during his 19 major-league seasons, 11 of those seasons with the Pirates. He also played for the Cincinnati Reds, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, California Angels and Toronto Blue Jays. Advertisement During his MLB career from 1979-91, Parker batted .290/.339/.471 with 2,712 hits, 339 home runs, 526 doubles, 1,493 RBI and 154 stolen bases. He won World Series championships with the 1979 Pirates and 1989 Athletics, was a seven-time All-Star and earned consecutive National League batting titles in 1978 and 1979. In 1979, Parker won the NL MVP award with a .334 average and .970 OPS with 30 homers, 34 doubles, 117 RBI and 20 steals. He finished second in NL MVP voting in 1985 with the Reds, leading the league with 125 RBI. Parker was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in December by the Classic Era Committee, earning votes on 14 of 16 ballots. He will be officially inducted into Cooperstown on July 27. 'I was a five-tool player. I could do them all,' Parker said after his election, via the Associated Press. 'I never trotted to first base. I don't know if people noticed that, but I ran hard on every play.' Nicknamed "The Cobra" because of his 6-foot-5, 230-pound frame and quick bat, Parker was the Pirates' 14th-round draft pick in 1970 out of Courter Tech High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. A knee injury during his senior year prevented him from following through on football ambitions — and likely resulted in his lower-round selection — but that was baseball's fortunate gain. Advertisement Following nearly four seasons in the minor leagues (hitting a combined .315 with an .854 OPS and 48 homers), Parker was called up and split time in right field with Richie Zisk for legendary Pirates star Roberto Clemente, who died tragically on December 31, 1972. However, he claimed the position for himself by 1975 with a breakout season, batting .308 with an .898 OPS, 25 homers, 35 doubles and 101 RBI. Parker also showed off an outstanding throwing arm in right field. From 1975-79, he led MLB with 72 outfield assists. Parker notched 26 assists in 1977 and finished his career with 143. He won three Gold Gloves during his career. (During his final four MLB seasons, Parker was largely a designated hitter in the American League due to deteriorating knees.) In 2012, Parker was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and led efforts to raise awareness and money to fight the disorder through his Dave Parker 39 Foundation. 'There's no fear,' Parker told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review in 2013. 'I've had a great life. I always dreamt of playing baseball, and I played... My fingerprints are on the baseball industry. I feel good about that. I have nothing to feel bad about.' Advertisement Parker never received more than 24% of the vote while he was eligible for Hall of Fame voting, and lasted 15 years on the ballot. Many believed his involvement in the 1985 Pittsburgh drug trials due to his cocaine use (and an initial suspension by then-commissioner Peter Ueberroth) affected his candidacy. "We join the baseball family in remembering Dave Parker," said Jane Forbes Clark, Hall of Fame chairperson of the board, said in a statement. "His legacy will be one of courage and leadership, matched only by his outstanding accomplishments on the field.
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a day ago
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MLB legend Parker, two-time World Series champ, dies at 74
A moment of silence was held at Pittsburgh's PNC Park for MLB legend Dave Parker, a former Pirates icon who passed away at age 74 (Justin Berl) Dave Parker, a seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star and two-time World Series champion outfielder and designated hitter, died on Saturday. He was 74. His passing after a battle with Parkinson's disease was announced by MLB and the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team where he began his 19-year MLB career in 1973. Advertisement Parker was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Classic Era Committee last December and will be inducted posthumously on July 27 in ceremonies at Cooperstown, New York. Parker batted .290 with 2,712 hits, 339 home runs and 1,493 runs batted in for his career playing for the Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, California Angels and Toronto Blue Jays. Parker spent 11 seasons with the Pirates, helping them to a World Series crown in 1979 and earning the National League Most Valuable Player award in 1978. He was a three-time Gold Glove award fielder and two-time NL batting champion while with Pittsburgh. He captured another World Series title with the Athletics in 1989, serving mainly as a designated hitter. Parker, nicknamed "The Cobra," grew up in Cincinnati near the Reds' ballpark and joined his hometown club as a free agent in 1984, spending four seasons with Cincinnati. js/bb
CTV News
a day ago
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Dave Parker, hard-hitting outfielder nicknamed ‘the Cobra,' dies at 74
Member of the 1979 World Series Championship Pittsburgh Pirates team right fielder Dave Parker attends a celebration honoring the team before a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Atlanta Braves in Pittsburgh, Saturday, May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) PITTSBURGH — Dave Parker, a hard-hitting outfielder who was set to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame next month, has died, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced Saturday. He was 74. No further details about Parker's death were immediately available. The Pirates informed the crowd of his death just before the start of their game against the New York Mets and held a moment of silence. Nicknamed 'the Cobra,' the 6-foot-5 Parker made his major league debut in 1973 and played 19 seasons, 11 for the Pirates. He was the NL MVP in 1978, won a World Series with Pittsburgh a year later and then won another championship in 1989 with the Oakland Athletics. Parker won back-to-back batting titles in 1977 and '78. He finished his career as a .290 hitter with 339 homers and 1,493 RBIs. He also played for Cincinnati, Milwaukee, the California Angels and Toronto. Parker was elected to the Hall of Fame by a special committee in December. The induction ceremony in Cooperstown, New York, is set for July 27. John Perrotto, The Associated Press
