REMEMBERING DAVE PARKER AND RYNE SANDBERG
BY ISMAEL NUNEZ
This past couple of months in July and early August, while all the focus was on the pennant and trade deadline, baseball lost two icons, Dave Parker and Ryne Sandberg. Dave Parker was elected to the 2025 Hall of Fame class along with Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner, and Dick Allen.
Parker was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2012 and lived with it for the next 13 years until his death on June 18th, 2025. Parker had a fine career as player: He stood 6 feet 5 inches weighing close to 230 pounds, and was one of the top left handed hitters of his time. He hit 339 career home runs, drove in 1,493 runs, and had 2,712 hits in his 19 years of playing in Major League Baseball. Parker was also a sport star in school. Parker would win two batting titles in 1977 and 1978, while in 1978 he would win the Most Valuable Player Award.
What I remember most about Parker was: 1-He had an extremely great throwning arm! Just check out his performance in the 1979 All Star Game where he threw out two runners which saved the game and earned him the All-Star Most Valuable Player award. 2-Parker was an outspoken player, yet he always backed up his statements. He stated proudly “When the leaves turn brown we’ll be in the World Series.” The Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979 did just that!
Ryne Sandberg, who like Parker, always had a smile for everyone had a great list of career accomplishments:
Offensive Highlights:
- 1984 NL MVP: He won the award with a .314 batting average, 19 home runs, 84 RBIs, and 114 runs scored.
- Power Hitting: Sandberg hit 282 career home runs, including 277 as a second baseman, a record at the time of his retirement.
- Power: He was one of the few second basemen to hit 30 or more home runs in consecutive seasons.
- 10-time All-Star: He was selected to the All-Star team 10 consecutive times from 1984 to 1993.
- Silver Slugger Awards: He won the Silver Slugger award seven times.
- 1990 Season: He achieved career highs with 40 home runs, 100 RBIs, and 116 runs scored. To add he won 9 consecutive Gold Gloves from 1983 to 1991, at one point held the major league record for fielding percentage by a second baseman at the time of his retirement, to add to that he set a record of a 123 game errorless streak.
One thing Parker has that Sandberg did not have is a World Series ring. Parker joins other Pittsburgh Pirate Hall of Famers with rings, like Willie Stargell, Honus Wagner, Bill Mazeroski, Roberto Clemente. Yet Sandberg, who along with fellow Chicago Cubs players, like Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams, Ferguson Jenkins, all got into the Hall of Famers, yet never got a ring.
Yet both Parker/Sandberg are and will always be remebered as champions not only for their accomplishments yet for their politeness for the game of Baseball.
Ryne Dee Sandberg (September 18, 1959 – July 28, 2025) David Gene Parker (June 9, 1951 – June 28, 2025) God Bless them both!
