Of all of the accolades and accomplishments from Dave Parker’s legendary profession — whether or not it’s his 1978 Nationwide League MVP, two World Collection rings or a number of batting titles, Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers — certainly one of his biggest touchstones in baseball lore is an image of him carrying a T-shirt.
That shirt merely learn: “In case you hear any noise, it’s simply me and the boys boppin.”
The concept was borne out of a tough patch the crew was on and the group not being pleased with their offensive manufacturing the place they had been within the standings. Parker felt the frustration, so he went to a mall to have the customized T-shirt made. The clubhouse liked it, and an iconic picture was born.
“And do not exit and attempt to copyright it as a result of it is mine,” Parker mentioned over Zoom on Sunday.
“He simply wished all people to loosen up, and that was his manner of doing it,” longtime Pirate Kent Tekulve mentioned over the cellphone on Monday.
It was a small instance of why Parker was so beloved and a pacesetter of these late-’70s Pirates groups. If Willie Stargell was “Pops,” Parker was the crew’s huge brother within the Fam-A-Lee. And that Fam-A-Lee lastly bought the long-awaited excellent news they waited years for: Parker is now a Corridor of Famer, being elected Sunday on the Winter Conferences by way of the Traditional Period Committee. Parker was certainly one of two gamers elected this yr by way of that committee, becoming a member of Dick Allen.
Parker’s candidacy had been debated for years. One of many biggest gamers of the ’70s, he was mired in controversy within the ’80s, which a few of his former teammates believed damage his Corridor of Fame possibilities. However Parker’s fourth time on a Veterans Committee poll was the appeal, a lot to the enjoyment of his teammates who vocally supported his case by way of the a long time.
“I used to be lastly glad that justice was achieved,” John Candelaria mentioned over the cellphone on Monday. “I wasn’t certain [it would happen], however I hoped.”
“Dave belongs within the Corridor,” Mike Easler mentioned over the cellphone on Monday. “He was among the finest gamers of his period. These 4, 5, six, seven years, he was among the finest gamers in his period.”
Parker’s accolades on the sphere are well-known. His management within the Pirates’ clubhouse — and future crew’s clubhouse — made him an icon. His confidence and wit had been seldomly matched — Tekulve might solely examine him to Steve Blass in the case of the latter — yielding some all-time phrases. Parker shared one throughout his Corridor of Fame Zoom name: “when the leaves flip brown, that’s after I’ll put on the batting crown.”
“He was the Muhammad Ali of baseball,” Easler mentioned. “He talked, and what he talked and bragged about, he backed it up with numbers and hustle and the way in which he performed the sport.”
“He’d speak plenty of smack. He’d again it up,” Candelaria mentioned.
One other favourite centered across the three issues that had been going to occur that day: the solar was gonna shine, the wind was gonna blow and massive Dave was going to go 4-for-4, or have three hits, or two hits and a homer. No matter was on the docket that day for the batting champ.
“You wouldn’t say it, since you’d be afraid you wouldn’t get the three knocks,” Tekulve mentioned. “Particularly in our clubhouse. All people would get in your ass. He didn’t care, and he would exit and get the three knocks. He preferred placing strain on himself. He preferred saying some ridiculous issues typically, simply to pressure him to dwell as much as it.”
Backing up these performances is what made Parker a legend. It’s why so many who performed with or towards him had been those calling for Parker to get the decision to Cooperstown. The Pirates held a celebration of the 1979 World Collection crew this Could at PNC Park, and nearly all the gamers in attendance voiced help for Parker that day, normally unprompted. That’s the norm for them.
“Each time we get collectively or we’re speaking to anyone we performed towards — it doesn’t must be somebody within the Corridor of Fame, it didn’t must be a star participant, simply anyone — the dialog would work round [to] Dave,” Tekulve mentioned. “Our first assertion was we didn’t perceive why Dave wasn’t within the Corridor of Fame.”
The group is probably a bit biased, however that’s as a result of they’ve a hoop to point out for it. Parker’s dominance within the late ’70s, culminating in an MVP in 1978 and enjoying a serious position for that 1979 championship crew, is finally his legacy with the group. It’s a chapter that most likely wouldn’t have been written with out him.
“With out Dave, I don’t assume we’d have gained,” Easler mentioned. “Easy as that. Certain we had Stargell. Certain we had [Bill] Madlock. We had nice gamers. However Dave Parker was a pacesetter on the crew. He led by instance. When Dave went, the crew went. So simple as that.”
That 1979 crew is without end labeled as Fam-A-Lee, and that bond is without end.
“The Pirates meant so much to me,” Parker mentioned. “They had been a fantastic brotherhood they usually had been all the time behind me. I might depart, come again and every thing is similar.”
