The Toronto Blue Jays have a link to this offseason’s Classic Baseball Era ballot – although the connection will likely test your organizational trivia.

Amongst the eight candidates, Dave Parker has been listed on the ballot. The outfielder spent a total of 13 games with Toronto during the 1991 season.

The BBWAA announced the Classic Baseball Era ballot for the 2025 induction class earlier this month, with all players being named for having made contributions and career impacts before the 1980 season. The connection with Parker and the Blue Jays is minimal at best given he spent the latter part of the 1991 campaign to help with Toronto’s playoff push and doesn’t technically fit in the Classic Era Ballot criteria with his lone season North of the border (as he played for Toronto after the 1980 season). However, the connection does have some significance because the Blue Jays were the last team Parker suited up for before heading into retirement.

With the Jays, Parker compiled 12 hits through 36 at-bats with four doubles and three RBIs. Toronto made the postseason that year but the outfielder was ineligible to participate in the postseason due to the late signing. The Jays would be sent home by the Minnesota Twins in the ALCS.

Ironically enough, Parker was one of the main reasons the Blue Jays lost in the 1989 playoffs years before, as he and the A’s bested Toronto in the 1989 ALCS and eventually went on to win the World Series. Famously, Parker and Jays infielder Kelly Gruber traded words through the media, as Gruber accused Parker of showboating after hitting his home runs during the playoff series due to his slow trot around the bases.

Known as ‘The Cobra’, when you think of Parker, you likely remember his time with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he spent 11 of his 17 seasons in the big leagues. Outside of the Pirates and the Blue Jays, Parker also played for the Reds, A’s, Brewers, and the Angels – who cut him during the season that led him to joining Toronto.

For his career, Parker compiled a .290/.339/.471 slash line with 526 doubles, 339 home runs, and 1493 RBIs. He finished with a .810 OPS and a 121 OPS+ with a 40.1 bWAR across 2466 games.

The right fielder has a stacked hardware cabinet, with Parker winning the NL MVP (1978), three Gold Glove Awards, three Silver Slugger Awards, and was a seven-time All-Star while winning two World Series rings with the Pirates (1979) and A’s (1989). The Mississippi product also took home the inaugural 1985 Home Run Derby title and was inducted into both the Reds and Pirates Hall of Fame classes after retirement.

Parker lasted 15 years (now it is 10 years) on the original Hall of Fame ballot following retirement but fell off the listing following the 2011 ballot. He never received more than 24% of the votes, falling well short of the 75% minimum required to enter Cooperstown. Some claim his involvement with the Pittsburgh drug trials as one of the main reasons for not being elected.

Per Bill James Hall of Fame monitor, Parker ranks at 125 on the scale – with a ranking over 100 being more likely to be elected versus being under the mark. He, Steve Garvey, and Tommy John rank above the 100 mark on the Classic Baseball Era ballot.

The results of the vote will be made public on December 8th, with Parker and the others needing 75% of the votes from the 16-member committee to be elected.

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