Dave Parker, Hall of Famer and former MVP, passes away at 74

mlb.com ^ | 06/28/2025 | Adam Berry

[Dr. Sivana]

I was assuming people wouldn’t use AI to answer. My favorite NFL one was Most unassisted safeties in one game. Answer the L.A. Rams’ Fred Dryer with two, against two different Packer QBs.

[LongWayHome]

A very good player, but it’s the HOF, not the hall of very good.

He’s borderline at best.

[ifinnegan]

All I could do is guess Willie Mays.

[Rummyfan]

He was a great ball player. RIP. All the players I watched in my youth are passing away. Hmm….

[Rummyfan]

That is a great trivia question.

[Rummyfan]

Eddie Murray was a great switch-hitter too…. But he never won an MVP ( he is in the HoF though)…. One of the very few with over 3000 hits and 500 HRs.

[Dr. Franklin]

I was assuming people wouldn’t use AI to answer. My favorite NFL one was Most unassisted safeties in one game. Answer the L.A. Rams’ Fred Dryer with two, against two different Packer QBs.

Speaker played a very shallow center field and was very fast.

[Dr. Franklin]

That is a great question. Not only a pitcher, but an AL pitcher before things were messed up. We no longer even KNOW which pitchers are switch-hitters.

In 1971, switch-hitting AL MVP Blue hit a whopping .118 with 12 hits, 2 doubles and 2 RBIs. He walked four times while striking out 63 times. He is not remembered for his hitting.
;)

[Dr. Franklin]

Seriously.

A player who hits .290 and also for power over a 19 year big league career deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, even if he couldn't hit Steve Carlton's slider.

[Dr. Sivana]

In 1971, switch-hitting AL MVP Blue hit a whopping .118 with 12 hits, 2 doubles and 2 RBIs.

What people who rag on bad hitting pitchers (and they go down to .025) don't appreciate is that the few good hitting pitchers make the game more interesting. The Dodgers used Don Drysdale to pinch-hit in the 1965 World Series. In later years, Terry Forster and Rick Rhoden had also been used as pinch hitters by the Dodgers.

George Brett's brother Ken was a pitcher, mostly in the AL. He batted .262 with 11 home runs in 373 plate appearances nonetheless.

Heck, Babe Ruth might never have been discovered as a batter if the DH was used in his era.

The game is weaker without make all the players bat.

[Dr. Franklin]

The game is weaker without make all the players bat.

Richie Ashburn used to say, all a pitcher needs to do is pitch a shut out and hit a home run and he should win every game...The DH destroys the symmetry of the game. Why stop at batting for the pitcher? Why not just have the best four hitters do all of the hitting on offense, and the best nine fielders play defense? There always were good hitting pitchers, who weren't easy outs, and who could pinch hit. The DH makes the top and bottom of the lineup less pronounced, and has taken sacrifice butting largely out of the game. Pitcher who couldn't hit much could help them selves by simply learning how to bunt well, but no more.

Don't get me started about ghost runners and wild card games...

[Dr. Sivana]

Don't get me started about ghost runners and wild card games...

That point of having the four best batters occurred to me, too. It could be like the NFL, best offense on the field, best defense. Heck, throw free substitution in and you can have a specialist pitcher who is brought in JUST for lefties. And pinch-runners to replace the slow slugger after he hits a single. You would see more great plays. More hits, more amazing catches and double plays, and worse baseball.

[Dr. Franklin]

Heck, throw free substitution in and you can have a specialist pitcher who is brought in JUST for lefties. And pinch-runners to replace the slow slugger after he hits a single.

That sounds like Calvin Ball.

[Dr. Sivana]

That sounds like Calvin Ball.

So does a 30 second pitch clock and ghost runners in extra innings.

[Verginius Rufus]

Just watched today’s Padres/Reds game on TV and noticed that on the outfield wall (near the foul pole on the left field side) they have a jersey with “ROSE 14” on it, so maybe he would have been welcome at the ceremony yesterday if he was still alive.

[Verginius Rufus]

The Padres finally got their first no-hitter a year or two ago, more than 50 years after they became a MLB club. In one of their early years as a team, they had a pitcher with a no-hitter late in the game, maybe the 8th inning, but the manager took him out for a pinch-hitter (who failed to get a hit).

[Verginius Rufus]

20 second pitch clock.

The "ghost runners" are the worst.

[Rummyfan]

I think one of the knocks on Parker was due to the drugs he did not get the most out of his talent, which was unlimited. I remember him in the 1979 WS against my Orioles. I thought he was the most intimidating batter I ever saw.

[Rummyfan]

And Kent Tekulve - Ichabod Crane - and his incredible sinker out of the. Bullpen.

[Rummyfan]

Those 1975 - 1976 Reds teams rank with any of the greatest of all-time. Bench, Morgan, and Tony Perez are in the HoF as is Sparky as manager. And of course Pete Rose….

For a good book on the ‘75 team, read Joe Posnanski’s THE MACHINE. Sparky Anderson was a true original BTW.