Wes Parker Stats & Facts
Wes Parker
Positions: First Baseman and Outfielder
Bats: Both • Throws: Left
6-1, 180lb (185cm, 81kg)
Born: November 13, 1939 in Evanston, IL
Schools: University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA), Claremont McKenna College (Claremont, CA)
Debut: April 19, 1964 (12,229th in major league history)
vs. MLN 0 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: October 1, 1972
vs. CIN 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Full Name: Maurice Wesley Parker
Nicknames: Mr. Steady
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject
Clay Carrol Debut:
September 2, 1964 vs. ST Louis 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1964
Tony Perez
Bert Campaneris
Don Kessinger
Paul Blair
Lou Piniella
Phil Niekro
Luis Tiant
Mel Stottlemyre
Mickey Stanley
All-Time Teammate Team
Coming Soon
Notable Events and Chronology
Wes Parker
Nicknamed “Mr. Steady”, Wes Parker was one of the finest defensive first basemen of his era, winning six Gold Gloves and leading the National League in fielding four times. He spent his entire big league career with the Los Angeles Dodgers and became one of the team’s better hitters in his later years.
Parker grew up in the Chicago area and moved to California to attend Claremont McKenna College (the only major leaguer to come out of that school). He was signed by the Dodgers prior to the 1963 season and made his pro debut that year with the Santa Barbara Rancheros. After hitting .305 with 11 home runs for the club, he was promoted to the Albuquerque Dukes later in the summer and hit .350 in 26 games for them.
Parker joined the Dodgers in 1964, and as a rookie, he split time between the outfield and first base. He became a regular at first the next season as Ron Fairly moved to the outfield, and was a part of baseball’s only all switch-hitting infield (with second baseman Jim Lefebvre, shortstop Maury Wills, and third baseman Jim Gilliam). He went on to hit .304 in the 1965 World Series as Los Angeles defeated the Minnesota Twins in seven games. On June 5th, 1966, he hit a home run from both sides of the plate against the New York Mets. The next summer, he won the first of six straight Gold Glove awards.
His only 1968 error was controversial, coming on an Astroturf bounce, after which the Los Angeles writers assured him that the Houston scorer had been drinking.
Prior to 1969, Parker was a below-.250 hitter. That summer he improved dramatically, hitting .278 with a career-best 13 homers. He hit for the cycle in a May 7th, 1970 game against the Mets, and ended that year with a .319 average with 111 RBIs and a league-leading 47 doubles. Following two more solid years, he retired after the 1972 season, shortly after his 33rd birthday. He retired with a then-record .996 fielding percentage at first base. He won the Lou Gehrig award in 1972.
After his major league days, Parker was a Cincinnati Reds broadcaster in 1973. He made a comeback as a player with the Nankai Hawks in Japan in 1974, hitting .301 with 14 home runs. He won the Diamond Glove Award at first base in the Pacific League.
Like many Los Angeles ex-athletes, Parker has also had an acting career, with the Internet Movie Database showing him with more than a dozen credits. He appeared in episode #17 of The Brady Bunch, “The Undergraduate” (1/23/70), as the boyfriend of Greg Brady’s math teacher, on whom Greg has such a huge crush that he is distracted in his studies. Parker promises Greg two tickets to Opening Day if he scores an “A” on the next test.
Parker worked as a television color analyst for the Cincinnati Reds (1973), NBC (1978–79), and USA Network (1980–83).
Best Season: 1970
His one exceptional year at the plate was 1970, when he hit .319 with 111 RBI and led the NL with 47 doubles. Joining a small group of players to drive in over 100 runs while hitting 10 homers or less
Feats:
In a game against the New York Mets in May, 1970, Parker hit for the cycle. He was the last Los Angeles Dodger to accomplish that feat until Orlando Hudson did it against the San Francisco Giants on April 13, 2009.
On August 21, 2007, Parker was named to the Major League Baseball All-time Gold Glove Team, and is the only eligible member of the team who is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Quotes:
“This award wraps up my career in the most beautiful way possible.” – Wes Parker, on winning voting by fans for the greatest defensive first baseman since the inception of the Gold Glove award
“Tommy (Lasorda) worked with me diligently . . . telling me that I was going to be a great hitter. . . the next spring Dixie Walker came to camp . . . he worked with me like Tommy had and finally . . . after weeks of practice . . . the results were amazing.” – Wes Parker, quoted in an interview about how he became a better hitter
“to enjoy the whole spectrum of life.” Parker came out of retirement in 1974 to play in Japan, and he hit .301 with 14 HR for Nankai.
@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@
Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts
Coming soon
Other Resources & Links
Coming Soon
If you would like to add a link or add information for player pages, please contact us here.