https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/I'd/42862577/dave-parker-dick-allen-elected-baseball-hall-fame

Congrats to "The Cobra"

"Classic Baseball Era Committee ballot considered players, managers, executives and umpires whose primary contributions came prior to 1980. A screening committee selected eight distinguished finalists for the final vote, with candidates needing to receive at least 12 votes from the 16-person committee that consisted of Hall of Famers Paul Molitor, Eddie Murray, Tony Perez, Lee Smith, Ozzie Smith and Joe Torre, plus five executives/owners and five media members/historians.

Parker was named on 14 of the 16 ballots..."

Nice!!!

Love it! One of my favorite Reds opponents that ended up a Red for a short time. Straight up howitzer for an arm.

His distinct swing was definitely in my whiffle ball rotation of swings that I'd use every day.

His prime was just a bit before I began watching but I remember his later years in Cincinnati and Oakland. Always enjoyed watching him play, especially that swing like @Jumper_Dad said. He was also insanely cool!

5 minutes ago, gchs_uk9 said:

His prime was just a bit before I began watching but I remember his later years in Cincinnati and Oakland. Always enjoyed watching him play, especially that swing like @Jumper_Dad said. He was also insanely cool!

Those Pirates teams were anchored by two Cincinnatians. Parker and Willie Stargell “Pops”

Very much deserved.  He should have been in a long time ago.  He's been in very poor health. I'm glad that he lived to know that he was voted in.  

20 hours ago, Jumper_Dad said:

Love it! One of my favorite Reds opponents that ended up a Red for a short time. Straight up howitzer for an arm.

His distinct swing was definitely in my whiffle ball rotation of swings that I'd use every day.

In 1977, he had 26 outfield assists.  Think about it, he threw out almost an entire game worth of baserunners from right field.  In the expansion era, only Roberto Clemente with 27, has as many assists in a single season.  He also led the league with 15 errors that season, but I'm guessing that's because he was throwing the ball all over the place. 

 

I'm usually not a fan of who these committees elect. But I'm in agreement here with Parker as well as Dick Allen. Both were deserving and probably should have been in awhile ago, especially with some of the recent players elected. I was a little too young to remember Dick Allen, but often heard my Dad and Uncles talk about how great he was. And while I hated the Pirates, Parker was just fun to watch, and as intimidating a player as I've ever seen.

A few years after I moved to this area, I happened to see Dave Parker in a Circuit City store. I never realized just how big he was. He must have noticed I was staring at him, and actually took a few minutes to say hello and shake my hand and talked to me for a minute or two.