Welcome to Cooperstown, Dave Parker! baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers…
Former Blue Jay Dave Parker elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
Photo credit: © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Dec 9, 2024, 07:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 8, 2024, 23:03 EST
A former Toronto Blue Jay has been elected to Cooperstown.
It was announced on Sunday evening that Dave Parker and Dick Allen were voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. Allen passed away just over four years ago.
Let’s be real here; both these players should have been voted in when they were first eligible. Allen slashed .292/.378/.534 with 351 home runs in his 15-year career, winning the American League MVP in 1972, the National League Rookie of the Year in 1964, and being named to four All-Star games.
However, Parker is the former Blue Jay that made the Hall of Fame. Will Dave Parker go into the Hall of Fame wearing a Blue Jays hat next summer? Absolutely not. The Blue Jays were the final team Parker played for, as he signed a deal after he was released in 1991, but wasn’t eligible for the postseason.
As a 40-year-old with the Jays, Parker slashed .333/.400/.44 with no home runs in 40 plate appearances. He had a lengthy career before joining the Jays and finished his career slashing .290/.339/.471 with 339 home runs in 10,184 plate appearances for a 120 wRC+ and a 41.1 fWAR from 1973 until 1991.
Parker was a seven-time All-Star, two-time World Series Winner, three-time Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Winner. He also won the National League Most Valuable Player award in 1978 (somehow wasn’t an All-Star that season) and won two batting titles.
The Blue Jays now have 12 players in franchise history to make the Hall of Fame. The most notable of which is Roy Halladay, as he spent 12 seasons with the Jays and tragically passed away in 2017.
Other players who played for the Blue Jays that are in the Hall of Fame are Jack Morris, Frank Thomas, Bobby Cox, Roberto Alomar, Scott Rolen, Fred McGriff, Rickey Henderson, Paul Molitor, Dave Winfield, Phil Niekro. Moreover, Pat Gillick is also in the Hall of Fame as he won back-to-back World Series in 1992 and 1993 as the Jays’ general manager.
Both Parker and Allen were well-deserved Hall of Famers, too bad it took too long though.
As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.