Dave Parker Marquee Hall of Fame 2025

He was six foot five and 230 pounds, fast, and known for the throws he made from right field. Parker led the National League in hits in 1977 with 215, won the Most Valuable Player award in 1978, took Gold Gloves in both of those years and in 1979, and was named most valuable player of the 1979 All-Star Game.

Then came knee injuries, weight, and years of booing in Pittsburgh, where he hit .258 in 1981 and .270 in 1982 and was written off. Cincinnati signed him for 1984. At thirty-four he led the National League in runs batted in with 125 and in doubles with 42, the same season he testified about his own cocaine use at the Pittsburgh drug trials.

He finished with 2,712 hits, 339 home runs and 526 doubles. The writers considered him fifteen times and never gave him a quarter of the vote, and three veterans committees passed on him as well. The Classic Baseball Era committee elected him for the class of 2025. He died that June, a month before the ceremony.