Pirates' Dave Parker Dies At 74 After Lengthy Battle With Parkinson's

[ad_1] by Daniel Johnson June 29, 2025

Parker battled an extended combat with Parkinson's.

Dave Parker, the longtime Pittsburgh Pirates proper fielder who stepped into the daunting function of changing baseball legend Roberto Clemente after his tragic dying in 1972, died on June 28 on the age of 74 following an extended battle with Parkinson’s illness.

Parker, who will enter the Corridor of Fame in July after being chosen to enter in December 2024, completed his profession simply shy of reaching 3,000 hits, typically the benchmark for a participant to enter Baseball’s Corridor of Fame, however his different bullet factors on the resume, like a Nationwide League MVP Award, two batting titles, and three gold gloves are spectacular. As a footnote, Parker was the inaugural winner of the Dwelling Run Derby in 1985, the Derby has since turn into a centerpiece of baseball’s All Star Sport festivities.

We're heartbroken to study of the passing of Corridor of Famer Dave Parker.

A legendary Pirate, Parker spent 11 years in a Pirates uniform, successful 2 batting titles, an MVP award and a World Collection Championship in 1979.

The Cobra was a part of the inaugural Pirates Corridor of Fame… pic.twitter.com/UuikGxw6dI

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 28, 2025

What a tragic as my former teammate and good friend HOF’er Dave Parker handed away. He fought Parkinson’s for years. Our condolences to his spouse Kellye, his household and everybody that had the nice alternative to be with him. RIP Cobra 🙏🙏🙏❤️ pic.twitter.com/xR23BqVLw2

— Bert Blyleven (@BertBlyleven28) June 28, 2025

Dave Parker was the best paid participant in baseball when the Pirates received the 1979 World Collection. 1st participant to common over $1 million per 12 months. And price each penny. pic.twitter.com/8kCIMbJca4

— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) June 28, 2025

Based on a press launch from Main League Baseball, Parker’s profession numbers are strong; he compiled 2,712 hits throughout his profession, batting .290 whereas hitting 339 house runs and producing 1,493 runs throughout 19 seasons from 1973-1991. He additionally received two World Collection, a decade aside, and was a key a part of the Willie “Pops” Stargell led “We Are Household” model of the Pittsburgh Pirates, arguably their most profitable incarnation.

“Dave Parker was a gifted all-around participant whose quite a few accomplishments led to his upcoming induction in Cooperstown this summer season,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred stated within the press launch. “He was a World Collection Champion with the 1979 Pirates and the 1989 Athletics, a beloved All-Star Crimson in his hometown of Cincinnati, and an All-Star in Milwaukee. Dave was additionally a three-time Gold Glover on the energy of his well-known arm, a two-time batting champion, and the winner of the inaugural Dwelling Run Derby in 1985. All of us all through the sport are deeply saddened by this loss. We are going to keep in mind the Cobra endlessly, particularly as his title quickly formally joins the legends of our Nationwide Pastime. On behalf of Main League Baseball, I lengthen my sympathy to Dave’s household and his followers throughout the sport.”

Though Parker was given the unenviable process of changing Clemente, a person whose legend is close to that of Jackie Roosevelt Robinson by way of his impression off the sphere, he did an admirable job, and as Omar Moreno, a teammate of Parker’s in Pittsburgh, instructed The Athletic, he was at the very least akin to the play of Clemente, no simple feat.

“He jogged my memory of Clemente,” Moreno instructed the outlet.

Parker, a brash, assured participant, was typically in comparison with Muhammad Ali for his quotes generally given in couplet type, like “When the leaves flip brown, I’ll be carrying the batting crown,” Parker additionally carries the excellence of being the primary participant to earn a $1 million wage, and was one of many first skilled athletes to put on an earring in his ear, now a typical sight.

Based on The Athletic, Parker additionally acknowledged the 1985 drug trial alleging that he was a part of a cocaine ring that was lively within the clubhouse at Three Rivers Stadium, the previous house of the Pirates franchise. Within the trial, Parker was stated to be a “common consumer” of the drug, and he and different gamers caught up within the scandal obtained a one-year suspension from the MLB that was later transformed into fines.

“I’m fairly happy with my profession,” Parker stated in 2019. “I made one mistake, which was the 1985 (drug) trial. That’s the one mark in opposition to me. However even with all that occurring, I performed exhausting and at a excessive stage underneath all that strain.”

That was thought-about to be a slight in opposition to Parker, with many within the baseball world believing that it was what had stored him from getting the decision to Cooperstown from the Baseball Writers Affiliation of America, whose poll he spent the utmost of 15 years on, earlier than being moved to the Fashionable Baseball Period poll the place alongside Dick Allen, he obtained the required votes to get in.

“We be a part of the baseball household in remembering Dave Parker,” Corridor of Fame Chairman of the Board Jane Forbes Clark stated in a press launch. “His legacy might be considered one of braveness and management, matched solely by his excellent accomplishments on the sphere. His election to the Corridor of Fame in December introduced nice pleasure to him, his household and all of the followers who marveled at his outstanding skills. We are going to honor his unimaginable life and profession at subsequent month’s Induction Ceremony in Cooperstown, the place his legacy might be remembered endlessly.”