How Dave Parker Saved the 1989 Oakland Athletics

How Dave Parker Saved the 1989 Oakland Athletics

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Dave Parker was the unsung hero of the 1989 Oakland Athletics. You might be confused if you were to look up his stats from that season. A 264 batting average with a 308 on base and 432 slugging, 4741 OPS, 110 adjusted OPS, and 0.3 war. That was only the sixth highest OPS and 12th highest war on the club. However, without him, the team may not have gone as far as they did. Yet, his name is overshadowed by others in the lineup. You might see the numbers and think he was just an okay hitter, but that’s far from how valuable he really was. Before getting to what he did and the impact he made, we need some context first. The Oakland Athletics of the late 80s were objectively the best team in the American League. three straight World Series appearances from 1988 to 1990 and winning it all in 1989. There were a lot of different reasons why Oakland had massive success during this time as the franchise was littered with star players. It would take an hour to discuss everyone, but I will get to a few of them in a moment. What’s important to know is that the 1988 team basically blew out the entire American League. Their 104 victories were 13 more than the second most. They never relinquished first place after midappril and swept their way to a pennant. Bottom line, they were a juggernaut and nobody in the American League was close to touching them. Although that changed in 1989 as the lineup took a huge step back. It all started when Jose Conco suffered a wrist injury in the off season that sidelined him until July. Conco was coming off one of the greatest hitting seasons of all time in 1988 as he became the first player in baseball history to join the 4040 club. 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases. Slick defensive shortstop Walt Weiss, fresh off winning the Rookie of the Year award, also went down with an injury in miday that kept him out for over two months. Okay, there were a couple of injuries, but did that really affect the lineup significantly? Well, there weren’t just injuries. The lineup collectively went into a slump as the months wore on. Again, I’ll get to that in a moment, but first, how was the team doing as a whole? Through the first month of the season, Oakland was sitting in second place in the West division with an 18 and8 record. Pretty good, but not running away with the league like the previous year. Interestingly though, who was the one hitter that was struggling more than anyone at this time? Dave Parker. Through April, Parker was one of the worst hitters in the league. He was slashing 194 with a 224 on base and 312 slugging for a 536 OPS. Just how bad was that? There were 153 players in Major League Baseball to have at least 75 play appearances through April of that year. Parker’s 536 OPS was the 11th worst. If we look at the 67 players with at least 95 play appearances, Parker’s OPS ranks 65th. There was also one point in April where he had a three for 45 stretch. That’s an 066 batting average for those curious. Why does all this matter, though? Think about it like this. At this point in his career, Dave Parker was a 38-year-old full-time designated hitter on an expiring contract. If he continued to hit poorly, exactly what value would he bring to the team? He likely would have been moved off the roster in some way. How do I know that for sure? The fact that there were rumors about him being traded to the New York Yankees. Manager Tony Larusa and general manager Sandy Alderson denied any rumors, but of course they’re going to. Normally, I’d say one random rumor has no merit, but Parker himself did comment on it, saying he has no control over one. Bottom line, if Parker’s bat stayed cold, I’m not sure how much longer he would have stayed in the lineup, let alone on the team. The man himself wasn’t worried about his struggles as he said, “It’s just a matter of time before I hit. I’ve always hit. I don’t see why this is any different. I’ve had a history of slow starts, but I have to say that this is one of the worst slumps I’ve ever been in. Hopefully, something will break today.” Good to his word, Parker did indeed turn things around almost immediately. In over a 100 play appearances in the month of May, Parker was incredible, slashing 309 with a 365 on base and 553 slugging for 9/119 OPS. Just how good was that? Of the 93 players with at least 100 play appearances in May, Parker’s OPS was the 10th highest. Legitimately went from one of the worst hitters in baseball to one of the best. He continued his excellent hitting across several months and I’ll go into detail about it in a moment. But first, you might be wondering what’s the point of all this. Baseball player has a poor start to the season and gets hot down the stretch. Happens all the time and doesn’t make for a story. Let me reiterate what I said at the beginning. If not for Dave Parker’s turnaround, the Athletics don’t go as far as they do or stay competitive in the division. You see, entering August 1989, the Athletics were in second place. They were only a half game out, but they were in second nevertheless with two teams behind them within decent earshot. Compare that to 1988 where entering August of that year, the A’s had a 5 and a half game lead and only one team within 10 games of them. A big reason why Oakland was staying afloat here was their pitching as they allowed the second fewest runs in the American League through July. Their hitting, however, was one of the worst as it ranked 10th out of 14 teams. I alluded to this earlier, but almost everybody in the lineup went on a monthsl long hitting slump. Why don’t we look at a few player stats in a 3month stretch from May through July? Keep in mind that the American Leaguewide OPS that year was 709. Mark Maguire/236 with a 331 on base and 422 slugging for 753 OPS. Not bad by any means, but a far cry from his previous season’s OPS of 830. Dave Henderson, who had an OPS of 887 in 1988/235 with a 296 on base and 318 slugging, 4614 OPS during these three months. Tony Phillips has 664 OPS in this span. Stan Javier a 603 OPS. Mike IGO a 567 mark and Terry Steinbach had a 653 OPS in June and July. You get the point. Almost everybody in the lineup was struggling. You know who wasn’t though? Dave Parker. In that 3-month span, Parker/305 with a 354 on base and 487 slugging for an 841 OPS. that includes a 200 atbat span where he had an OPS over 900. For a World Series contending team that had its lineup on life support, Dave Parker was one of two hitters keeping the offense alive. Just in case anybody brings it up, Carney Lansford was the only other hitter that matched Parker’s production. Imagine going from practically the worst hitter in the league to one of the best holding down the Fort club trying to win a championship. Realistically, who knows what Oakland’s record would have been without him. Suppose Parker continued his struggles and didn’t hit an all-star caliber level. Would the Athletics even be as close as they were? That’s pure speculation, but let’s look at it this way. The A’s played in 71 games from May through July and went 41 and 30 in those games. Remove Dave Parker’s incredible bat from the lineup and does the team still have that record? I’m not sure they would even be over 500. Anyway, Parker acknowledged he had to take a step up when others went down. as he said, I was trying to do more to make up for the proven long ball that Jose provides and that Mark provides. They were both out and I think maybe that took me away from my game. It seems that the more people doubt my abilities, the better that makes me as a player. It’s almost as if this was business as usual for him. The lineup is slumping, so he puts the team on his back for half a season’s worth of games. Speaking of which, why did I only look at stats through July? A few reasons. First off, July was when Jose Conco returned from injury and returned to his old form, hitting at an elite level. Second, at the end of June, the Athletics made a trade to acquire some outfielder by the name of Ricky Henderson. July was his first full month back in Oakland where he basically hit the cover off the ball. Third, a handful of players got hot towards the end of the year. Notably, Dave Henderson had an OPS over 700 in the final two months of the season, while Mark Maguire had an OPS of 837. Lastly, in contrast, Parker’s final two months were decent at best, as he had an OPS just under 700 in August and September. As you can imagine, the production from the other hitters down the stretch catapulted the A’s into first as they went 36 and 21 the rest of the year, winning the division by seven games. The team returned to the World Series where Parker was crucial once again. He hit a home run in game one to help beat the San Francisco Giants. And in game two, he drove in the go-ahead run, doubling in José Conco in the fourth inning to go in front two to one. Oakland won that game 5 to1 in route to a sweep of the Giants to capture the World Series. A World Series they may not have gone to if not partially thanks to the Cobra himself, Dave Parker.

Dave Parker was undoubtedly, the unsung hero of the 1989 Oakland Athletics. Without him, the team may not have gone as far as they did, and today, we take a deep dive into what Parker did, and how he saved the team.

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