THE NEW YORK TIMES – Dave Parker, the slugging outfielder nicknamed the Cobra who won a pair of National League batting championships, helped propel the Pittsburgh Pirates to the 1979 World Series championship and was belatedly elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame late last year, died on Saturday at a nursing facility in Cincinnati. He was 74.
He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2012. The Pirates confirmed Parker’s death on social media.
At 6 feet 5 inches and about 230 pounds, Parker was a feared left-handed batter, hitting 339 home runs, driving in 1,493 runs and collecting 2,712 hits in his 19 major league seasons. He was a seven-time All-Star and displayed a rocket arm in right field, winning three Gold Glove awards.
In September 1985, while playing for the Cincinnati Reds, Parker testified in federal court in Pittsburgh that while a Pirate he arranged cocaine transactions between a Pittsburgh man and some of his teammates, along with some players for the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He said he used cocaine from 1976 to 1982.
“His legacy will be one of courage and leadership, matched only by his outstanding accomplishments on the field.” – Jane Clark Forbes, chairwoman of the Hall of Fame
In his 15 years on the sportswriters’ ballot for the Hall of Fame, which requires 75 percent of the votes for induction, Parker never received more than 24.5 percent of the votes.
He subsequently missed out three times in balloting by veterans committees that consider outstanding players whose eligibility on the writers’ ballots had expired. But last December, he was finally elected when he was named on 14 of the 16 ballots of the Classic Baseball Era Committee, surpassing the necessary 75 percent threshold.
Dick Allen, who played first base for the Phillies, was elected by the same committee, receiving 13 votes …
