How Dave Parker helped Toronto on their path to AL East dominance

On July 27, 2025, Dave Parker will be posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. While it is an honour that is so well deserved and long overdue, it will be a bittersweet moment as Parker passed away over the weekend at the age of 74 on June 28, 2025.

Parker had been battling Parkinson’s disease for more than a decade and had been confined to a wheelchair as the disease progressed. Upon hearing about his induction by the Veterans Committee in December of 2024, Parker said, “I’ve been holding this [induction] speech in for 15 years.” It is a shame it will be a speech that will likely be given by his wife, Kellye, of 30+ years or perhaps one of their six children. Parker will be best remembered for his time as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates whom he played for from 1973-1983, but he also played for the Cincinnati Reds, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, California Angeles and the Toronto Blue Jays.

In the early part of the 1990’s the Toronto Blue Jays had the AL East on lockdown. They won three straight division titles and back-to-back World Series championships. However, it might not have been possible had it not been for a 13-game cameo by a Hall of Fame player.

On September 14, 1991, Blue Jays General Manager Pat Gillick signed a 40-year-old Dave Parker as a free agent after he was released from his contract by the Angels. Parker was a two-time World Series champion, winning in 1979 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and helping the 1989 Athletics beat the Blue Jays in the ALCS before claiming the World Series title against the San Francisco Giants.

Parker was also an National League MVP, seven time All-Star, won two batting titles, two Gold Glove awards and three Silver Sluggers. “Cobra” as he was affectionately known seemingly didn’t have much left in the tank when he came over to the Blue Jays. He was coming off a 1990 All-Star season with Milwaukee, but in 119 games in ’91 with the Angels he hit just .232/.279/.358 with 11 home runs and 91 strikeouts.

The Blue Jays needed a jolt to get them through the last few weeks of the season. They were leading the AL East by 3.5 games over the Boston Red Sox, but Toronto was one of the lowest scoring teams in the league and their regular combination of designated hitters consisted of a 35-year-old Rance Mulliniks (.250/.364/.333), 35-year-old Mookie Wilson (.241/.277/.349) and 33-year-old Pat Tabler (.216/.318/.270).

Enter Parker, who didn’t provide a ton of power, but had 12 hits in the 13 games he played in as Toronto’s DH down the stretch, finishing with a .333/.400/.444 slash line. He drove in just three RBI, but had four walks and four of his 12 hits were doubles.

What Parker brought to the team was a veteran presence to a team that had had it’s ups and downs over the last few years. Yes, they were division champions in 1989, but they were no match for the A’s in that years ALCS. The Blue Jays competed in 1990 but faded at the end and lost the division by two games to the Red Sox. 1991 was the start of something different, something that the franchise had yet to experience, a stretch of sustained success and a mini dynasty that brought the World Series banner north of the border.

Parker helped the Blue Jays get to the finish line by going 11-9 in their last 20 games and win the division by seven games. While Parker wasn’t eligible for the postseason roster and the Blue Jays bowed out to Minnesota in the ALCS, he helped set that precedent of what was to come and what was to be expected for the Blue Jays of the early 90’s.

From everyone at Jays Journal our condolences go out to the friends and family of Dave Parker, may he rest in peace.