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New York Times
28-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Dave Parker, Hall of Famer and 7-time All-Star, dies at 74
By C. Trent Rosecrans and Rob Biertempfel Dave Parker left an indelible imprint on Pirates history by swatting titanic home runs and making fantastic throws from right field. Yet, in the earliest stages of his career, it was Parker's speed that caught everyone's attention. Pirates relief pitcher Kent Tekulve saw Parker for the first time during minor-league spring training in 1971. 'He hit a ground ball two steps to the backhand of the shortstop, and beat it easy,' Tekulve said. 'Before he got big and they changed his swing, probably the closest player I could compare him to, as far as flat-out speed, was Omar Moreno.' Advertisement A couple of years later during big league camp, Willie Stargell studied Parker in the batting cage. 'If you get some lift in that swing,' Stargell suggested, 'you're going to hit a lot of home runs.' The advice from the Hall of Fame slugger paid off. In 1975, his first full season in the majors, Parker batted .308 and was fifth in the National League with 25 homers. 'Dave Parker was by far the most all-around talented player I ever played with,' Tekulve said. On Saturday, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced that Parker died at the age of 74. Over 19 seasons in the majors, Parker hit .290 with 339 homers and 154 stolen bases. On Dec. 8, 2024, he was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Classic Baseball Era Committee along with Dick Allen. We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Hall of Famer Dave Parker. 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. The Cobra was part of the inaugural Pirates Hall of Fame… — Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 28, 2025 With the Pirates from 1973 to 1983, Parker earned one National League MVP award, two batting titles and three Gold Gloves. His unabashed swagger and sublime performance energized the 'We are Fam-a-lee' team that won the 1979 World Series. 'I could do it all,' Parker said in a 2019 interview with The Athletic. 'I vocalized quite a bit. People tell me that I 'played angry.' That's what I did and it worked for me. But I always played hard and I respected my fellow man. I did everything on the field that I could.' Parker was a star tailback in high school, but a knee injury during his senior year forced him to give up football. The Pirates drafted him in the 14th round in 1970. Although he wasn't a marquee pick, Parker shot through the minors and made his big-league debut in July 1973. That was a difficult season for the Pirates, who were reeling from the death of Roberto Clemente on New Year's Eve 1972. Advertisement By the middle of the '70s, Parker was cemented as the Pirates' next great right fielder. 'He reminded me of Clemente,' Moreno said. From 1975 to 1979, the team averaged 93 wins per season and captured two NL East crowns. 'Back when I played, when the Pirates showed up it was like a bad circus was coming to town,' said former Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, who was a rookie outfielder with the Royals in 1977. 'They had so many different weapons. The pitching staff, the starters, the bullpen. That offense could beat you so many different ways. And the unis they wore just topped everything off. There was no telling what they were going to come out wearing.' The Pirates' sometimes garish combinations of double-knit polyester uniforms drew snickers, but no one ever dared laugh at Parker. He relaxed in the clubhouse wearing a black t-shirt that declared, 'If you hear any noise, it's just me and the boys boppin'.' He swung a sledgehammer in the on-deck circle at Three Rivers Stadium. 'There was a time when many of us in the game thought Dave Parker was the baddest dude in baseball,' Hurdle said. 'There wasn't anything he couldn't do.' It wasn't all brawn, either. Parker played the game with laser focus. Tekulve recalled an error-filled play when Parker showed how well he understood all the little things that go into a game. 'It was one of those screwed-up, 'put up the circus tent' plays when the ball got thrown here and there, all over the place,' Tekulve said. 'By the time the play was done, Dave Parker was standing at home plate. There was nothing left for him to do in the outfield and he knew the next throw would have to be to home plate, if there was going to be one, and so he was there.' The relationship between Parker and Pittsburgh fans soured in the 1980s, as the Pirates went into a downward spiral. After the 1983 season, Parker left as a free agent and signed with the Reds, his hometown team. He also played for the A's, Brewers, Angels and Blue Jays before retiring in 1991. Advertisement 'I'm pretty satisfied with my career,' Parker said. 'I made one mistake, which was the 1985 (drug) trial. That's the only mark against me. But even with all that going on, I played hard and at a high level under all that pressure.' During that trial in Pittsburgh, Parker and several other players testified before a grand jury against a cocaine ring that was active in the team clubhouses at Three Rivers Stadium. Parker was among seven players who were named as 'regular users' and suspended for one season by MLB, although their sentences later were reduced to fines. Parker finished 288 hits shy of 3,000, the mark that often ensures a spot in the Hall of Fame. Yet, during his 15 years on the writers' ballot, Parker never got more than 24.5 percent of the vote. He also was snubbed three times by the Expansion Era and Modern Era committees, most recently in 2019. Parker was a coach for the Angels and Cardinals and later helped out in spring training as a special instructor with the Pirates. In 2013, he revealed that he was battling Parkinson's disease.
Washington Post
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
McCutchen moves past Clemente on Pirates' home run list in 5-2 win over Marlins
PITTSBURGH — Andrew McCutchen hit a milestone three-run home run in the fifth inning to help the Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the Miami Marlins 5-2 on Wednesday. McCutchen's shot to left-center field off Cal Quantrill was his sixth of the season and 241st in 12 seasons with the Pirates, moving him past Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente into third place on the franchise's career list. Willie Stargell (475) and Ralph Kiner (301) are ahead of McCutchen.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
McCutchen ties Clemente for third on Pirates' all-time homers list with 240
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Andrew McCutchen tied Roberto Clemente for third place on the Pittsburgh Pirates' all-time home run list at 240 with a two-run shot off San Diego's Randy Vásquez in the third inning on Sunday. It was the second homer in two games and fifth of the season for the 38-year-old McCutchen, who's in his 17th big league season and 12th with Pittsburgh over two stints. It gave the Pirates a 2-1 lead. Advertisement Clemente hit 240 homers from 1955-1972. He was 38 when he was killed on Dec. 31, 1972, in the crash of a plane he chartered to deliver emergency supplies for the survivors of an earthquake in Nicaragua. He was posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973. Willie Stargell tops the Pirates' list with 475 homers and Ralph Kiner is next with 301. McCutchen has 324 homers in a career in which he's also played for Philadelphia, Milwaukee, San Francisco and the New York Yankees. ___ AP MLB: The Associated Press
Associated Press
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
McCutchen ties Clemente for third on Pirates' all-time homers list with 240
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Andrew McCutchen tied Roberto Clemente for third place on the Pittsburgh Pirates' all-time home run list at 240 with a two-run shot off San Diego's Randy Vásquez in the third inning on Sunday. It was the second homer in two games and fifth of the season for the 38-year-old McCutchen, who's in his 17th big league season and 12th with Pittsburgh over two stints. It gave the Pirates a 2-1 lead. Clemente hit 240 homers from 1955-1972. He was 38 when he was killed on Dec. 31, 1972, in the crash of a plane he chartered to deliver emergency supplies for the survivors of an earthquake in Nicaragua. He was posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973. Willie Stargell tops the Pirates' list with 475 homers and Ralph Kiner is next with 301. McCutchen has 324 homers in a career in which he's also played for Philadelphia, Milwaukee, San Francisco and the New York Yankees. ___ AP MLB:
Associated Press
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
This Date in Baseball - Andre Dawson sets an MLB record when he is intentionally walked five times
May 22 1933 — Joe Sewell of the New York Yankees struck out for the first time this season, during a 3-0 win over Cleveland. Sewell would strike out only three more times in 524 at-bats. 1942 — Ted Williams is sworn into the U.S. Navy, but will remain with the Red Sox until he is called for active duty. 1957 — The Boston Red Sox hit four home runs in the sixth inning of an 11-0 win over Cleveland. Gene Mauch, Ted Williams, Dick Gernert and Frank Malzone connected. All the homers came on the first 16 pitches from Cal McLish. 1958 — Ted Williams hits his 16th career grand slam to provide the Red Sox with the margin in an 8-5 win over the A's. Ted's 4th-inning blast, off Jack Urban, ties him with Babe Ruth for second place on the career slam list. 1959 — Baltimore's Hoyt Wilhelm pitched a one-hitter against the New York Yankees for a 5-0 win. Jerry Lumpe's single in the eighth spoiled the no-hit bid. 1963 — Mickey Mantle hit a pitch from Kansas City's Bill Fischer off the right-field facade at Yankee Stadium in an 8-7 victory over the A's. 1968 — Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit three home runs, a double and a single in a 13-6 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Stargell's double just missed going out, as it bounced off the railing of the left-field bleachers. 1976 — St. Louis' Reggie Smith hit three home runs — two right-handed and one left-handed — and drove in five runs in a 7-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Smith's third homer came with two outs in the ninth and broke a 6-6 tie. 1977 — Boston and Milwaukee hit a combined 11 home runs in a 14-10 Red Sox victory at Fenway Park, tying a major league record. The Red Sox connected for six and the Brewers hit five in the first game of a doubleheader. 1983 — Cliff Johnson of the Toronto Blue Jays hit his 18th career pinch homer. The homer, off Baltimore's Tippy Martinez, tied Johnson with Jerry Lynch on the career pinch home run list. 1990 — Andre Dawson sets a major-league record when he is intentionally walked five times during a 16-inning, 2-1 Cubs win over the Reds. 1998 — The Mets acquire catcher Mike Piazza from the Marlins in exchange for OF Preston Wilson, P Ed Yarnall and a player to be named. Piazza has barely spent a week with Florida, following a trade from the Dodgers. 1998 — Brian Cox went 6-for-6, including a grand slam in a 10-run third inning, as Florida State rolled past Delaware 27-6 in the NCAA Atlantic II Regional. Freshman Matt Diaz hit three home runs for the Seminoles. 2000 — Milwaukee beat Houston in the first game of a doubleheader, 10-9, coming back from a 9-2 deficit to tie the score with seven runs in the bottom half of the ninth inning. The Brewers won the game in the 10th on a home run by Jose Hernandez. 2001 — The Twins score 8 runs in the 3rd inning to give Brad Radke an 8 - 0 lead, then hold on to edge the Mariners, 12-11. The M's will use the momentum to win their next 15 and set a franchise record. 2008 — Ken Griffey Jr. hits his 200th home run as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. He becomes the fourth player in major league history to hit 300 for one team and 200 with another. Preceding him are Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Jimmie Foxx. 2008 — Boston's J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell hit grand slams to help Daisuke Matsuzaka remain unbeaten as the Red Sox posted an 11-8 win over the Kansas City Royals. 2009 — Michael Cuddyer hit for the cycle and matched his career high with five RBIs as Minnesota defeated Milwaukee 11-3. Cuddyer hit a three-run homer in the first inning, doubled in the third and singled in the fourth before completing the cycle by tripling on a broken-bat liner into the left-field corner in the sixth. 2012 — C.J. Wilson and Ernesto Frieri combined on a one-hitter to give the Los Angeles Angels a 4-0 win over Oakland. Cliff Pennington had the only hit — a one-out single in the fifth — for Oakland. _____
