Parker first gained attention when he was named the Carolina League MVP while in the Pirates system in 1972. He got to the Majors in 1973. In 1977, Parker won a Player-of-the-Week Award, played in the All-Star Game, won the National League Batting Title and won a Gold Glove Award. In 1978, he won two Player-of-the-Week Awards, two Player-of-the-Month Awards, won the National League Batting Title, won a Gold Glove Award and was named the National League Most Valuable Player. In 1979, he played in the All-Star Game, was named the All-Star Game MVP, won a World Series with the Pirates and won a Gold Glove Award. He played in the All-Star Game in 1980. He played in the All-Star Game in 1981. He went to Cincinnati in 1984. In 1985, he won two Player-of-the-Week Awards, a Player-of-the-Month Award, participated in the Home Run Derby (which he won), played in the All-Star Game and won a Silver Slugger Award. In 1986, he was suspended for being convicted of misdemeanor possession of cocaine as part of a plea deal in exchange for his testimony in the infamous Pittsburgh Drug Trials and given the opportunity to sit out the entire season or donate ten percent of his salary to drug prevention programs (he picked the latter), won a Player-of-the-Week Award, participated in the Home Run Derby, played in the All-Star Game and won a Silver Slugger Award. He went to Oakland in 1988. He won a World Series with Oakland in 1989. He went to Milwaukee in 1990, where he won a Player-of-the-Week Award, played in the All-Star Game and won a Silver Slugger Award. He finished his career with cups of coffee with the California Angels and Toronto. Parker finished his career with 339 home runs and 1,493 runs batted in. He has yet to be elected to the Hall of Fame, probably due to his drug abuse problems, and this year is his last on the ballot.
Honorable Mention:
DH David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox
Ortiz first gained attention when he emerged as a top prospect with Minnesota in 1998, although he'd already reached the Majors in 1997. He went to the Red Sox in 2003. In 2004, he was suspended for five games for throwing objects onto the field, won a Player-of-the-Week Award, participated in the Home Run Derby, finished the season with 41 home runs, won the World Series with the Red Sox and won a Silver Slugger Award. In 2005, he won a Player-of-the-Week Award, participated in the Home Run Derby, played in the All-Star Game, finished the season with 47 home runs and won a Silver Slugger Award. In 2006, he represented his native Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, won a Player-of-the-Week Award, won a Player-of-the-Month Award, participated in the Home Run Derby, played in the All-Star Game, finished the season with 54 home runs and won a Silver Slugger Award. In 2007, he won a Player-of-the-Week Award, won a Player-of-the-Month Award, played in the All-Star Game, finished the season with 52 doubles, won a World Series with the Red Sox and won a Silver Slugger Award. He played in the All-Star Game in 2008. He represented his native Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic in 2009. In 2010, he won a Player-of-the-Month Award, participated in the Home Run Derby (which he won) and played in the All-Star Game. Ortiz is still under contract with the Red Sox. He figures to have about five seasons left in the Majors and he's already hit 378 home runs and has knocked in 1,266 runs. He isn't good enough to crack this list yet, but the sky is the limit for Ortiz.
No comments:
Post a Comment