Major League Baseball lost a titan of its own on June 28 with the passing of former Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Dave Parker.
Noted by USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale, Parker passed away after a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s Disease. He was 74 years old.
‘We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Hall of Famer Dave Parker. A legendary Pirate, Parker spent 11 years in a Pirates uniform, winning 2 batting titles, an MVP award and a World Series Championship in 1979,’ the Pirates wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Known as the Cobra, Parker was set to receive his elongated induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame next month in Cooperstown, New York from the Classic Baseball Era Committee.
In his 19-year MLB career, which included an 11-year stint with the Pirates, Parker, who was known to be an intimidating bat for pitchers to face, recorded 2,712 career hits and a .290 batting average at the plate with 339 home runs and nearly 1,500 RBIs.
Accolade-wise, Parker was a seven-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion, a two-time National League batting title champion and the 1978 National League MVP on top of several other accolades.
Before the second of their three-game weekend series against the New York Mets at PNC Park, the Pirates held a moment of silence to remember Parker — as did the Cincinnati Reds, who Parker played for from 1984-1987. Parker’s death has also brought in an outpouring of reactions from those on social media. Here’s a snippet of those reactions:
Baseball reacts to Dave Parker’s death
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(This story was updated with new information)