Dave Parker, Dick Allen get classic era Hall call
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David Schoenfield, SweetSpot blogger
Dave Parker, the rifled-arm outfielder and 1978 National League MVP for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Dick Allen, the feared slugger for the Philadelphia Phillies and 1972 American League MVP for the Chicago White Sox, are the new members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Parker, 73, hit .290 with 339 homers and 1,493 RBIs from 1973 to 1991, making seven All-Star teams. Allen, who died in 2020, hit .292 with 351 homers and 1,119 RBIs from 1963 to 1977. He also was a seven-time All-Star.
The 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, while Allen was on 13.
They will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 27 along with players voted in by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, whose balloting will be announced on Jan. 21.
Other candidates on the ballot included: John Donaldson, a star pitcher in the Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues for more than 30 years; Negro Leagues player and manager Vic Harris; pitcher Tommy John, winner of 288 games and the pioneer patient in elbow ligament-replacement surgery; former Dodgers and Padres first baseman Steve Garvey; third baseman Ken Boyer, the 1964 NL MVP; and former Red Sox pitching legend Luis Tiant.
John received seven votes; the others each received less than five.
Parker, nicknamed “The Cobra,” was one of the best all-around players in the majors from 1975 to 1979, winning back-to-back batting titles with the Pirates in 1977 and 1978 and capturing the 1978 MVP Award when he hit .334 with 30 home runs and 117 RBIs.
He won World Series titles with the Pirates in 1979 and the Oakland Athletics in 1989, and he was also known for his powerful throwing arm, immortalized in the 1979 All-Star Game when he threw out one runner at third base and another at home plate.
The middle of his career was affected by drug use, injuries and weight issues, but he returned to his hometown Cincinnati Reds in 1984 and revitalized his career with a second-place finish in the MVP vote in 1985, when he hit .312 with 34 home runs and a league-leading 125 RBIs.
Parker would later move on to Oakland, where he became the respected veteran designated hitter alongside Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco for the “Bash Brothers” teams in 1988 and 1989.
Parker peaked at just 24.5% on the BBWAA ballot and had appeared on three previous veterans ballots, never receiving enough votes to register. While modern analytics don’t rate him as a strong Hall of Fame candidate with 40.1 career WAR, he fares better in the traditional counting stats: 2,712 hits, 339 home runs and 1,493 RBIs. Throw in a .290 career average and the MVP Award and it was enough to finally get him in.
Parker, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2012, has also remained a fan favorite, especially among those who remember his peak years in the late 1970s.
Allen was one of the hardest-hitting sluggers of his era, leading his league four times in OPS, three times in slugging percentage and twice in home runs. The 1972 American League MVP with the White Sox, Allen had one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time with the Phillies in 1964, when he hit .318 and led the NL in total bases and runs scored.
A controversial player during his career — Allen was traded five times — he was also a victim of racial abuse when he played for Arkansas in the minor leagues in 1963 and then during his years in Philadelphia.
Allen put up huge numbers in the low offensive context of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and modern analytics helped make him a more viable Hall of Fame candidate. His adjusted OPS+ of 156 is tied for 16th among players since 1900 with at least 5,000 plate appearances. That’s the same as Frank Thomas and higher than Willie Mays (155) and Henry Aaron (155).
During his peak years from 1964 to 1974, Allen ranked fifth in home runs, seventh in RBIs and runs scored, second in slugging percentage, first in OPS+ and sixth in WAR among position players.
He topped out at just 18.9% during his 15 years on the BBWAA ballot, where his totals of 351 home runs and fewer than 2,000 career hits (1,848) were held against him. He had appeared on six previous veterans committee ballots, however, falling one vote short in 2015 and 2022.
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Jesse Rogers
CHICAGO — Los Angeles Dodgers starter Blake Snell will back off his throwing program as he continues to recover from left shoulder inflammation, according to manager Dave Roberts.
“As he was playing catch, he just didn’t feel great,” Roberts said Wednesday afternoon before the Dodgers played the Chicago Cubs. “Right now, we’re going to slow play the throwing. Will probably get it looked at again when we get back home.”
Snell, 32, has been on the injured list since early April after making just two starts for the Dodgers. He signed a five-year, $182 million contract this past offseason.
Snell, who was set to throw a bullpen session Wednesday, felt discomfort in the shoulder while playing catch Tuesday. Roberts was asked how concerning the latest setback was.
“I wouldn’t say concerning because part of the messaging from us to Blake is, it’s about later on in the season and if there’s any type of discomfort, let’s not try to fight through it,” Roberts responded.
Snell is one of several Dodgers pitchers on the mend, including left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who pitched three innings in a minor league start Tuesday, his second rehab outing this spring.
“Velocity was good,” Roberts said. “Got into the fourth inning. He’ll make a start next week. Really positive stuff.”
The Dodgers also received positive news about right-hander Tyler Glasnow after he left his last start with leg cramps. His latest bullpen session went well, according to Roberts.
Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani is throwing again after missing time on the paternity list. He’ll have another bullpen session Saturday as he recovers from elbow surgery, though the team still doesn’t have a timetable for his return to major league action.
The team was also without catcher Will Smith on Wednesday after he injured his wrist on a play at the plate in Tuesday’s loss to the Cubs.
“As he made the tag, his [left] wrist turned in and so there’s some residual soreness,” Roberts said.
Smith could get imaging done when the team returns to Los Angeles, but Roberts wasn’t overly concerned about the injury.
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Jesse Rogers
CHICAGO — Most players are happy to be done facing the Los Angeles Dodgers, but Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong might not be one of them.
The Los Angeles native has torched his childhood team this season, including Wednesday night at Wrigley Field when he went 3-for-4 with a home run, two stolen bases and a career-high four RBIs, helping the Cubs to a 7-6 win. It came one night after Chicago beat L.A. 11-10, with Crow-Armstrong contributing another home run.
He was asked Wednesday whether his production has special meaning coming against the team he used to root for.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I mean, they are regarded as the best, and I think we’ve enjoyed being able to show that we’re right there with them, and yeah, it’s always a little extra special for me getting to do it against the team I grew up going to see.”
Crow-Armstrong erased a 2-0 Cubs deficit with an opposite-field, three-run homer in the fourth inning, then added a run-scoring single an inning later, which turned out to be the final run of the night for the Cubs.
Overall, he had four home runs and nine RBIs in the seven-game season series against the Dodgers, which the Cubs won 4-3 after losing the first two games in Japan in mid-March. But that was before the Cubs’ offense took off. They’re averaging an MLB-high 6.3 runs per game.
Crow-Armstrong’s season took off as well, starting over a week ago when the teams met in Los Angeles. In the 10 games since, the 23-year-old is hitting .400 with five home runs.
“He needs to send me a bottle of wine or some golf balls with all the success he’s had,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts quipped before Wednesday’s game.
Roberts and Crow-Armstrong exchanged pleasantries before the first game of the series, as the second-year player is friends with Roberts’ son, Cole. The two played against each other growing up.
“I got a couple different connections to Doc,” Crow-Armstrong said. “He’s so great.”
That’s the same word Crow-Armstrong’s teammates are using about him as he continues to impress both at the plate and in the field. According to ESPN Research, he’s the fastest player in Cubs history to reach five home runs and 10 stolen bases, doing it in 26 games.
Plus, his pitchers love seeing him patrol center field.
“Defensively, I got to say he’s probably the best,” Wednesday’s starter, Matthew Boyd, said. “And what he’s doing at the plate is no surprise.”
Crow-Armstrong showed signs of breaking out late last year but then struggled early this season before locking in during the Cubs’ most recent road trip. He said he got “on-time” with his swing while learning how to deal with failure better. He was asked how satisfied he is with his game right now.
“If it comes out in a win, it’s very satisfactory,” he said. “It makes me feel very content. I love being able to impact it in any way I can.”
So does his manager, who called Wednesday a “wonderful game” for Crow-Armstrong.
“He made his presence felt in a big way for sure,” Craig Counsell said.
Crow-Armstrong is quickly becoming a fan favorite, as the Cubs faithful are taking to his aggressive style of play. He was asked what it’s like to hear his name chanted when he comes to the plate after producing in previous at-bats.
“I’ve tried to tune that out,” he said with a laugh. “I was actually thinking about it yesterday and I was like, I got to be 0-for-20 when they’ve chanted my name. But they continue to chant and they get behind every one of us and it’s the coolest thing.”
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