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Baseball Hall Of Fame Member Passes Away At 74

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Dave Parker, a two-time World Series champion and 1978 MVP, passed away on Saturday following a battle with Parkinson’s disease. Parker, who was 74, was set to be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame next month.

“We join the baseball family in remembering Dave Parker,” National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum chairman Jane Forbes Clark said in a press release.

“His legacy will be one of courage and leadership, matched only by his outstanding accomplishments on the field. His election to the Hall of Fame in December brought great joy to him, his family and all the fans who marveled at his remarkable abilities. We will honor his incredible life and career at next month’s Induction Ceremony in Cooperstown, where his legacy will be remembered forever.”

Parker, who played the majority of his career in the outfield, debuted with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1973. He spent the first 11 years of his Hall of Fame career with the pirates before stints with the Reds, A’s, Brewers, Angels and Blue Jays.

Parker during his time with the Oakland Athletics

In his MVP 1978 season, “The Cobra” batted an MLB best .334 with a .979 OPS, 30 home runs and 117 RBIs. The campaign was good for one of his two National League hitting crowns.

The following year, he played a major role in the Pirates’ World Series championship in 1979, which remains the most recent title for the often suffering franchise. He eventually captured a second championship with the Athletics 10 years later.

Parker was also named MVP of the 1979 All-Star Game when he threw out a runner at home plate from the outfield, which kept the game tied in the ninth inning. He finished his career with a phenomenal batting line of .290 with 339 homers and an .810 OPS.

In 2022, Parker was part of the inaugural class of the Pirates’ Hall of fame, when he was honored alongside fellow Pirates legends Roberto Clemente, Willie Stragell, Honus Wagner and Bill Mazeroski.

During Saturday’s broadcast of the Mets-Pirates game, Mets veteran and SNY commentator Ron Darling described Parker as “larger than life.”

“We’re told all the time that the next guy up the block is a five-tool player,” Darling said on the broadcast. “They usually have 2 1/2 or three tools. This guy, legit, five tools. … He was the coolest guy on the planet. You just wanted to be around him. He had an infectious smile and laugh.”

Parker will be posthumously inducted into Cooperstown next month after he was voted in by the Classic Baseball Era committee.