Two icons who passed and were forged in the heat of Venezuelan baseball, as was the case of Dave Parker and the late Luis Tiant, are among the eight names that make up the Classic Era Committee’s ballot for the Hall of Fame de Cooperstown.
This era makes up the period before 1980. In addition, it includes the Negro Leagues and the Stars who played before the Negro Leagues, an era that established the foundations of the game and its postmodernity.
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In addition to ‘Cobra’ and ‘El Tiante’, the ballots feature Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Vic Harris and the famous Tommy John; ironically more famous for being the first client of the famous elbow ulnar collateral ligament surgery than for what he did as a player.
We all know the story of Luis Tiant’s ‘La Venganza’ in the LVBP – in which he threw a no-hitter against the Leones del Caracas wearing the La Guaira uniform – and the rebirth of his career to become one of the shotgunners with Greater character in the game. He finished his time in the Majors with 229 wins and 2,416 strikeouts in 3,486.1 innings pitched.
Parker was constant in MLB and left his mark in Venezuela
Regarding Parker; Currently 73 years old, he played for 19 seasons in MLB; from 1973 to 1991, with Pirates (11), Reds (4), Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, California Angels and Toronto Blue Jays. His lifetime average is .290, with 336 home runs and 1,493 RBIs in 2,466 games.
But, among all that, he left his mark on the LVBP by wearing the Navegantes del Magallanes uniform in the mid-70s. He averaged .401 in the 76-77 harvest. At that time he became the third hitter with a .400-point contest in Venezuela (Pablo García and Víctor Davilillo). A season before, in 75-76, he had been the circuit leader in home runs (11), triples (6) and Slugging (.533).
Candidates must receive votes on 75% of the ballots submitted in order to be immortalized in Cooperstown. On December 8 at 7:30 PM the voting results will be announced.
