Congrats to Dave Parker and Dick Allen on finally making it to the HALL OF FAME!

[George K]

 

[George K]

Glad these two legends finally made it to the HALL where they belong. If anyone has any cool cards of either of these two, please show them off here.

 

[Philip J. Fry]

 

[dano7]

Happy for both!

 

[WizardofOz1982]

Allen should have been in a long time ago but I still don't understand why so many people think Parker should have been in.

 

[nosterbor]

Allen yes. Parker NO.

 

[nosterbor]

Juans Stats
SUMMARY
Career
WAR
38.7
AB
6556
H
1936
HR
434
BA
.295
R
1061
RBI
1404
SB
26
OBP
.343
SLG
.561
OPS
.904
OPS+
132
Parkers Stats
SUMMARY
Career
WAR
40.1
AB
9358
H
2712
HR
339
BA
.290
R
1272
RBI
1493
SB
154
OBP
.339
SLG
.471
OPS
.810
OPS+
121

Parker had 2802 more at bats than Gonzalez that's 4.9 more years of playing time than Gonzalez had.
Parker in the hall is Hands down a JOKE!

 

[George K]

I have no issue with Parker being in the Hall. He was a superior slugger for two decades and a key player on two World Series winning teams - and the 1978 NL MVP. 'nuff said.

 

[Mozzie22]

Lately, it seems the Hall seems to be putting people in that are dead or on death's door.

 

[Topnotchsy]

I guess comes down to how you measure HOF candidacy. I'm definitely biased towards modern metrics but I cannot fathom why people think Parker is a deserving HOF.

Parker had a .290 lifetime batting average, but a very underwhelming .339 OBP. He had some power, but not a ton of power. BR has him at 40.1 lifetime WAR which is not close to HOF level, and far, far below other outfielders like Kenny Lofton, Andruw Jones etc.

Compounding this is the fact that from 1975-1979, for a 5-year stretch, he was genuinely an elite player. Of course that on its own is not a negative, but in those years he accounted for 31.1 WAR. In the other 14 years of his career, he accounted for under 10 WAR. Basically, he was slightly better than a replacement level player (which is a well-below-average player) for 14 years of his career.
With over 10,000 plate appearances and not many walks, he was able to accumulate a decent number of hits. But there are likely at least 75-100 players not in the Hall who were more valuable.
Even looking at this ballot alone, Tiant, Harris and Donaldson (not to mention Allen who was also elected) were far more valuable. Ken Boyer was a similar hitter but played a far tougher position which is why his lifetime WAR is considerably higher.

In my mind, only Garvey (who similarly was highly regarded at the time but does not stand up to scrutiny in hindsight), and Tommy John were less worthy.
Parker was a worse hitter than Harold Baines and I believe a worse HOF selection than Baines.

Of course, this is not to disparage his career. He was a great player. Won an MVP etc. But Parker is one of the worst HOF elects we have ever seen.

 

[George K]

One can ultimately twist numbers in a variety of ways. Parker was unquestionably one of the best players of his day. The man's bat, speed, and cannon of an arm in his peak left an impression on you if you watched him play and were alive during the years that he played. His legacy is further enhanced by the fact that he was still a competitive veteran player in the latter part of his career.

I've always believed that a player should be considered for the Hall of Fame if they were exceptional enough to leave a lasting impression on a large number of people. Thankfully, there's enough folks out there who believe the man belongs.

Although I'm not a Pirates fan, I picked up this Pittsburgh Pirates "1977" Cooperstown cap because I never forgot those glory days of Parker.

 

[JVHaste]

Lately, it seems the Hall seems to be putting people in that are dead or on death's door.

The crystal ball says the 2058 HOF class will have a dead David Eckstein, Jay Buhner, and Dontrelle Willis.

 

[mrmopar]

The HOF debate has grown stale for me. I am happy for Allen and Parker as selectees. Any player who has both a productive and relatively lengthy career outperformed 98% of their peers all-time. I still can't grasp why people get so butt hurt when a "borderline" (in their eyes) player gets in. It's not spitting on anyone else and certainly doesn't diminish existing members careers. I am flat out sick of hearing arm-chair nerds using the term "Hall of Good" as well. The "watered down HOF" argument holds NO water.

its a lot like society in general. We seem to think it's our business to be in everyone's business. It's not.

Congrats to Parker and Allen, 2 guys who were already in my Hall of Fame.

 

[banjar]

Dave's my guy, and has been since I started collecting back around 1990. I'm glad he made it, but if he never did I would have understood.

Also, I resurrected my Dave Parker PC a few months ago, and have been adding to it regularly. And all of the sudden he's in the HOF. Coincidence? I think not.

 

[Dilferules]

Shoot, I don't have a Dick Allen auto for my A's collection yet and this won't make them any cheaper. (he played 54 games for the '77 A's)

 

[banjar]

Nice Parker cards!