Beloved Pirates’ Slugger Parker Remembered as Tremendous Teammate

Kent Tekulve remembers what a great Pittsburgh Pirates teammate Dave Parker was.

It’s how someone was in the clubhouse, on the plane, at the hotel, that’s the true athlete. How did teammates get along with each other is important. Performances on the playing field is an open book. But the relationships built through a career are what is cherished most, once the spikes are hung up for good.

Memories are the best form of severance pay in athletics.

So, last Saturday, while watching the Pittsburgh Pirates’ game on TV, I learned of Dave Parker’s passing, and I immediately thought of how his former teammates were reacting. Kent Tekulve, who shared spring training in Bradenton, FL, and National League seasons in Pennsylvania with Parker for 10 years, first came to mind.

I’ve watched Tekulve interact with fans and former Pirates at the club’s annual fantasy camp for the past couple of winters. In my book, there isn’t a kinder soul or more accommodating pro than Tekulve. When he picked up his phone on Saturday to offer his memories of “the Cobra”, I knew he would be honest.

“Most importantly, Dave was a great teammate,” says Tekulve, who, along with Parker, was a member of the Pirates’ 1979 “We Are Family” World Series championship club. “In 1979, Willie (Hall of Famer Willie Stargell) was our leader, but Dave was receiving first-hand information on the game from Willie that would allow him to grow as a leader.”

Throughout my conversation with Tekulve, he mentioned several times how proud he was to have been Parker’s teammate. He doesn’t hesitate to say that although “Pops” Stargell was the leader in Pittsburgh, Parker was the best player on the team.

“Dave was the guy in the lineup every day and played at a high energy level.”

Tekulve probably isn’t the only player of his era who believes Parker was, at least in the National League, the most dangerous person on both sides of the ball. Whether throwing runners out from right field or finding a way onto base, there was no middle to Parker’s commitment to winning.

As for Parker’s election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum this past December by the Classic Baseball Era Committee, Tekulve is quick to say, “It should have been done years ago.”

It always amazes me when players are welcomed to Cooperstown, either by committee or voted in by the BBWAA (Baseball Writers’ Association of America), years into retirement, they play the waiting game. The statistics generated during their playing days haven’t changed.

I get it. Not every ballplayer is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. But why have the player wait until their 10th and final year of eligibility on the BBWAA ballot? Why do greats like Parker, who last played in the 1991 season for the California Angels and Toronto Blue Jays, then are subjected to another wait with the committee?

Last December, of the 16 committee members who reviewed Parker’s contributions, 14 of them voted him into the Hall of Fame, many of whom were his contemporaries. Among the voters were Lee Smith, Ozzie Smith, Paul Molitor, Tony Perez, and Eddie Murray.

Parker’s December 8 vote brought the count to 87.5%, far more than the necessary 75% for enshrinement.
Parker’s wait for Cooperstown’s calling is sad. Long before being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Parker earned the right to move about freely on induction day at the grounds of the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown. He should have been able to take his time and soak up the most special professional day of his life.

In less than a month. On July 27 in the “Home of Baseball”, there’s little doubt that the Parker family will step up and proudly represent the man who deserves the love, in accepting his plaque. What a long-overdue scene.