MVP Profile: Dave Parker, 1978

Outfielder, Pittsburgh Pirates

Age:  27 (June 9)

6^th season with Pirates

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’5”    Weight: 230

Prior to 1978:

A native of Mississippi, Parker moved with his family to Cincinnati where he starred at Courter Technical High School in football and basketball, in addition to baseball. A knee injury as a senior that required surgery finished him as a football player and wiped out his senior year of baseball. The Pirates still chose him in the 1970 amateur draft. A catcher in high school, Parker was shifted to the outfield when he reported to the Pirates of the rookie-level Gulf Coast League in ’70. In 61 games he batted .314 with 6 home runs and 41 RBIs and was selected as a league All-Star. Advanced to Waterbury of the Class AA Eastern League in 1971, Parker hit only .228 in 30 games before being sent down to Monroe of the Class A Western Carolinas League where over 71 games he batted .358 with 11 home runs and 48 RBIs. In 1972 he was with Salem of the Class A Carolina League and hit .310 with 22 home runs and 101 RBIs and was once more a league All-Star. He got off to a strong start with Charleston of the Class AAA International League in 1973 and was called up to the Pirates in July where he batted .288 the rest of the way with 9 home runs and 57 RBIs in a platoon role. Parker was on the disabled list with a hamstring injury for a significant stretch in 1974 and was again platooned when healthy and over 73 games he hit .282 with four home runs and 29 RBIs. Finally an every day player in 1975 he led the NL with a .541 slugging percentage while batting .308 with 35 doubles, 10 triples, 25 home runs, and 101 RBIs. He finished third in league MVP voting as a result. Nicknamed “The Cobra”, Parker was a big man with a big and boisterous personality. He hit .313 in 1976 with 13 home runs and 90 RBIs although hindered by a knee injury. Parker was an All-Star for the first time in 1977 during a season in which he topped the NL in hits (215), doubles (44), and batting (.338) while also accounting for 21 home runs and 88 RBIs. He also received his first Gold Glove for his fine play in right field that included 26 assists, a testament to his strong throwing arm. He also placed third in league MVP balloting.

1978 Season Summary

Appeared in 148 games

RF – 147, PH – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 642

At Bats – 581

Runs – 102 [3]

Hits – 194 [4]

Doubles – 32 [14, tied with six others]

Triples – 12 [2, tied with Gene Richards]

Home Runs – 30 [3]

RBI – 117 [2]

Bases on Balls – 57

Int. BB – 23 [1]

Strikeouts – 92 [16, tied with Willie Montanez, Jeff Burroughs & Gary Matthews]

Stolen Bases – 20

Caught Stealing – 7

Average - .334 [1]

OBP - .394 [2]

Slugging Pct. - .585 [1]

Total Bases – 340 [1]

GDP – 8

Hit by Pitches – 2

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 2

League-leading intentional bases on balls drawn were +3 ahead of runner-up Dave Winfield

League-leading batting average was +.018 ahead of runner-up Steve Garvey

League-leading slugging pct was +.026 ahead of runner-up Reggie Smith

League-leading total bases were +10 ahead of runner-up George Foster

Midseason snapshot: HR - 13, RBI - 47, AVG. - .316, SLG - .535

Most hits, game – 5 (in 5 AB) at Chicago Cubs 8/8

Longest hitting streak – 15 games

Most HR, game – 2 (in 3 AB) vs. Cincinnati 8/16, (in 4 AB) at Philadelphia 9/12, (in 6 AB) at Chi. Cubs 9/19 – 11 innings

HR at home – 14

HR on road – 16

Multi-HR games – 3

Most RBIs, game – 5 vs. Cincinnati 8/16

Pinch-hitting – 0 of 0 (.000) with 1 BB

Fielding

Chances – 327

Put Outs – 302

Assists – 12

Errors – 13

DP - 3

Pct. - .960

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: BBWAA

Gold Glove

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Dave Parker, Pitt.: 320 pts. – 21 of 24 first place votes, 95% share

Steve Garvey, LAD: 194 pts. – 58% share

Larry Bowa, Phila.: 189 pts. – 3 first place votes, 56% share

Reggie Smith, LAD: 164 pts. – 49% share

Jack Clark, SF: 107 pts. – 32% share

Pirates went 88-73 to finish second in the NL Eastern Division, 1.5 games behind the division-winning Philadelphia Phillies while leading the league in triples (54) & stolen bases (213). Mired in fourth place on August 12, 11.5 games behind the Phillies, the Pirates turned hot with 10-game and 11-game winning streaks to close the gap, only being eliminated from contention in the season’s final weekend. Parker was briefly disabled by a fractured cheekbone at midseason (which eliminated him from All-Star Game consideration), but wearing a batting helmet with a facemask allowed him to ultimately play through the injury.

Aftermath of ‘78:

In the wake of his MVP season, Parker received a five-year contract extension worth $7.75 million. After three straight second place finishes in the NL East, the Pirates returned to the top in 1979 and went on to win the World Series. Parker contributed a .310 average along with 45 doubles, 7 triples, 25 home runs, and 94 RBIs along with continued Gold Glove play in the field. He placed tenth in league MVP voting. He also hit .345 in the hard-fought World Series triumph over Baltimore. Pittsburgh dropped to third place in 1980 and Parker, playing on a sore knee and further dogged by off-field problems and an increasingly rancorous relationship with the team’s fans, dropped to .295 with 17 home runs and 79 RBIs. Knee surgery was performed prior to the 1981 season but “The Cobra” appeared in just 67 games during the strike-interrupted campaign and batted .258 with 9 home runs and 48 RBIs. His significantly increased weight also became an issue. Increasingly injury prone, Parker appeared in only 73 games in 1982 and hit .270 with 6 home runs and 29 RBIs. Relatively healthy in 1983 and having lost weight, he played in 144 games and batted .279 with 12 home runs and 69 RBIs, overcoming a slow start with a strong second half. A free agent in the offseason, Parker signed a two-year contract with the Cincinnati Reds. Returning to his hometown seemed to reinvigorate his career and in 1984 he hit .285 with 16 home runs and 94 RBIs. He followed up with a bigger year in 1985 in which he led the NL in RBIs (125), doubles (42), and total bases (350) while also hitting 34 home runs and batting .312. He was an All-Star for the first time since 1981 and placed second in league MVP voting. Off the field, in a federal drug trial in Pittsburgh Parker testified to his cocaine use while with the Pirates and was sued by the team for violating the terms of his big 1979 contract as a result. Parker had another productive season in 1986 in which he appeared in every game and batted .273 with 31 home runs and 116 RBIs while leading the league with 304 total bases. This time he was fifth in NL MVP balloting. Parker dropped to .253 with 26 home runs and 97 RBIs in 1987, after which he was traded to Oakland for LHP Tim Birtsas and RHP Jose Rijo. Utilized primarily as a Designated Hitter and left fielder by the pennant-winning A’s in 1988 he batted .257 with 12 home runs and 55 RBIs. The A’s again topped the AL in 1989 on the way to winning the World Series and Parker contributed 22 home runs, 97 RBIs, and a .264 average as the regular DH. He signed a two-year free agent contract with Milwaukee in the offseason. In 1990 with the Brewers he was again almost exclusively a DH and hit .289 with 21 home runs and 92 RBIs. At age 39 he was dealt in the offseason to the California Angels, where he struggled in 1991. Released in September after batting .232 with 11 home runs and 56 RBIs in 119 games, he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and hit .333 in 13 games, which marked the end of his major league career. Overall, Parker batted .290 with 2712 hits that included 526 doubles, 75 triples, and 339 home runs. He further scored 1272 runs and compiled 1493 RBIs. With the Pirates he batted .305 with 296 doubles, 62 triples, 166 home runs, and 758 RBIs. A seven-time All-Star (four with Pittsburgh), Parker finished in the top ten in league MVP voting on six occasions (winning once). He also received three Gold Gloves and three Silver Slugger Awards. In 30 postseason games he batted .234 with three home runs and 11 RBIs. Parker was elected to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 2014.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.