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Well, you guys know that I've got a soft
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spot, but also I've got immense respect
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for the players that built the leagues
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into what they are now and didn't get to
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reap the wild financial benefits.
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When we're watching guys in the NBA and
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Major League Baseball make $50 million a
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year, that as a career earning would
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have been staggering for a player 30
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years ago. Staggering
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20 years ago probably as well. This day
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and age of monster insane salaries, I
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mean, NFL as well, has just got to make
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guys that used to play go, man, I was
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born at the wrong time. And so, I have
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immense respect for the guys that came
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And Dave Parker is one of those guys.
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And he passed away this week, just
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yesterday, at the age of 74. And that
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was a tough one. It's a tough one
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because he's been battling Parkinson's
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for a while, but because he had just
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finally been elected to the Baseball
1:10
Hall of Fame in Coopertown and would be
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inducted this summer. So, he missed the
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induction by I mean a month and a half.
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I was just gut-wrenching.
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But Dave Parker was the epitome of cool.
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And for as great of a baseball player as
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he was, and look, this is a guy that
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ultimately got into Coopertown,
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his superpower was coolness. And I'm not
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sure there's many baseball players that
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are that way in today's society. So,
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somebody young who's watching right now
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might go, "Well, the there's no cool
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baseball players. There's cool
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basketball players. There's cool
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football players maybe, but I don't see
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cool baseball players or at least I'm
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not I'm not familiar with any of them.
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Dave Parker was so badass.
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Dave Parker could hit a mile, could run
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like a demon, and had an absolute
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ridiculous throwing arm. On top of it,
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there is a infamous picture where he's
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smoking a cigarette in the dugout during
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a game. And he was part of the we are
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family, 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates, who are
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just a collection of crazy personalities
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that just brought that entire city
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swung a sledgehammer in the on deck
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circle to warm up for at bats. Not
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joking. He would swing a sledgehammer.
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Imagine that today you bring out a
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and a guy that just took no guff. You
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know, management did not believe he was
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worth x number of dollars and he said,
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you know, screw off. I am. And now we're
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at war. And he just was as intense as
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you could possibly get. But boy did he
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play hard. So hard. And when he felt
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like, you know, you didn't understand
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him, it was time for me to go. and it
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was all business. And Dave Parker was a
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seventime all-star with three different
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teams. That's how talented he was. He
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went to the All-Star game four times in
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Pittsburgh where the bulk of his career
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was. He won an MVP there. He w he won
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the World Series there. He was amazing.
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He won two batting titles there as well.
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Then went to Cincinnati and went to two
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more All-Star games. Then went to
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Milwaukee and went to another All-Star
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game. and then in 1989 in between there
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won a World Series with the iconic Bash
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Brothers Oakland A's. He lived a
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baseball life. He was an incredible
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player. He was an incredible
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personality. And it's such a shame he
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was not alive on the day he finally got
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into Coopertown. And that's forever
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going to have to weigh on the
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consciences of those voters that kept
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him out for a long time. And there was
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probably a couple of different reasons.
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He was involved in the mid 80s drug
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trial in baseball which roped in a
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couple of different bigname players.
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There was the contract disputes. There
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was feuds with the media. But at the end
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of the day, his credentials were
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overwhelming. He fell 288 hits shy of
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That's a season and a half for a great
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player like him. You know, that's not a
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lot. He That's automatic enshrinement.
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Basically, he deserved in. I'm glad he
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finally got in. I wish he could have
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seen it. RIP to the Cobra because is
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there another more badass nickname than
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Just a phenomenal player. Cool as cool
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can be. Much respect, much love, and rip
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to an absolute legend.
