a moment for the cobra

i can't say i was completely surprised to read that dave parker passed away on saturday given his declining health in recent years, but it was still a jolt to the system for me. and, for it to happen a month before he will be enshrined in cooperstown makes it doubly saddening. of course, he at least knew that he would be one of baseball's immortals before he died, unlike his classmate dick allen (or ron santo, for that matter).

to a fan like me, parker was always hall of fame material. i began following baseball in earnest in 1978 which was parker's mvp season. and, because he had led the national league in batting in 1977, he showed up twice in the 1978 topps set which was my statistical introduction to major league baseball. his 1978 solo card is a classic

and one that i was excited to receive back signed by the cobra

in my earliest ttm days about fifteen years ago.

parker solidified himself as a hall of famer in my eyes with that '78 season and the 1979 followup campaign wherein he helped the pirates win the world series, but more memorably to me, dominated the all-star game with his cannon from right field. his outfield assist to nail brian downing at the plate during that game was gloriously replayed in my home every saturday morning during baseball season for the next year or two as it was included in the closing credits of "this week in baseball". 

in 2013, topps reimagined parker's 1978 card with a different photo in their archives release

i like it (and have it in my 1978 topps master set), but it's not the original.

parker is the third national league player with the all-star shield in the 1978 topps set to pass away (joe morgan and don sutton are the others) and it hits close to home when these players that i studied for hours on end leave this mortal coil.

i wrote more about my thoughts on dave parker when i added him to my hall of famer collection back in 2021. i am glad the eras committee corrected the mistake of the baseball writers' association and voted him in to cooperstown. he was a decade great

and an all-time great.

rest in peace, hall of famer.