Dave Parker Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame: Remembering the Cobra's Late-Career Season in Milwaukee

Back in the 1970s, David Gene Parker was one of the elite players in Major League Baseball. In 1977, Parker won his first NL batting title and a Gold Glove; became an All-Star for the first time; and finished third in the NL Most Valuable Player race. In 1978, Parker won his second batting title, another Gold Glove, and the MVP award in the National League. Parker finished in the top 10 in MVP voting two other times in that time frame, won another Gold Glove and made the NL All-Star team three more times. In other words, Parker was one of the best players in baseball for six or seven years.

Today, Dave Parker is a Hall of Famer.

Parker, along with the late slugging infielder Dick Allen, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame via the Classic Baseball Era Committee process on Sunday. Parker was named on 14 of 16 ballots. Notable players who failed to receive enough votes were Tommy John, Ken Boyer, Steve Garvey, and Luis Tiant.

After missing out on the BBWAA voting and the Veterans Committee, the third time was a charm for the 73-year-old Parker.

Nicknamed the “Cobra,” the 6-foot-5, 230-pound left-handed batter struck fear into opposing pitchers. In addition to the laurels listed above, he was a member of two World Series-winning teams: the 1979 ‘We Are Family’ Pittsburgh Pirates and the 1989 ‘Earthquake Series’ Oakland Athletics.

Parker was also known as a cannon-armed right fielder, who once threw out an amazing 26 runners in one season and ended with 143 assists in 19 years. Drafted by the Pirates in the 14th round of the 1970 MLB Amateur Draft, he reached the big leagues for good in 1973. He played for the Pirates for 11 years before signing with the Cincinnati Reds prior to the 1984 season. Parker led the NL in doubles (42) and RBIs (125) in 1985 and played in a pair of All-Star games during his four-year stint with the Reds.

Parker was traded to Oakland after the 1987 season and played in the Bay Area for two years, before signing with the Brewers for the 1990 season. After two subpar seasons with the A’s, Parker renewed his career in Brew City at age 39, earning his seventh and final All-Star nod while playing almost exclusively as the designated hitter. Parker led the Brewers with 176 hits, 30 doubles, 92 RBIs, and 275 total bases. He was named the Milwaukee Brewers Most Valuable Player after the season.

The Cobra played one more season, splitting time with the California Angels and Toronto Blue Jays. Fittingly, Parker doubled in his last big-league at-bat on Oct. 2, 1991, in a 6-5 win over California. For his career, Parker had a slash line of .290/.339/.471 with 2,712 hits, which included 526 doubles, 75 triples, 339 home runs, and 1,493 RBIs. It would be a long three decades between that day and this ultimate acknowledgment of his legacy, but he finally received it, and his final great season with the Crew is a part of that story.

We at Brewer Fanatic applaud Dave Parker for his Hall of Fame election.