Lance Parrish


Lance Michael Parrish, nicknamed "Big Wheel", is an American former baseball catcher who played Major League Baseball from 1977 through 1995. Born in Pennsylvania, Parrish grew up in Southern California and excelled in both baseball and football. He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 1974, and after four years in the minor leagues, he played for the Tigers for a decade from 1977 to 1986. He later played for the Philadelphia Phillies, California Angels, Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Toronto Blue Jays.
Parrish helped lead the Tigers to the 1984 World Series championship, was selected as an All-Star eight times, and won six Silver Slugger Awards and three Gold Glove Awards. Over his 19 MLB seasons, he compiled a.252 batting average with 324 home runs, and 1,070 runs batted in. At the time of his retirement, he ranked fourth in major-league history in home runs by a catcher and seventh in games played at the position.
After his playing career, Parrish worked as a catching instructor, coach, manager, and broadcaster. He was a member of the Tigers' coaching staff from 1999 to 2001 and 2003 to 2005. He was the color commentator on Detroit Tigers television broadcasts in 2002. He was also a minor-league manager of the San Antonio Missions, Ogden Raptors, Great Lakes Loons, Erie SeaWolves, and West Michigan Whitecaps.

Early years

Parrish was born in 1956 in Clairton, Pennsylvania, a Pittsburgh suburb. At age six, Parrish moved with his family to Southern California. He grew up in Walnut in eastern Los Angeles County. His father was a deputy sheriff with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Parrish attended Walnut High School where he was the regular catcher for the baseball team as a freshman and sophomore, and then played several positions as a junior and senior. Parrish also played for Walnut's football and basketball teams. In football, he received all-conference honors at three different positions and was offered a scholarship to play college football for the University of California, Los Angeles.

Professional baseball

Minor leagues (1974–1976)

Parrish was drafted at age 17 by the Detroit Tigers in the first round of the 1974 Major League Baseball draft. The Tigers paid him a $67,000 bonus that persuaded him to abandon a letter of intent to play college football for UCLA.
Parrish began his professional career in 1974 as a third baseman for the Bristol Tigers, Detroit's rookie team in the Appalachian League. Parrish compiled a.213 batting average.
In 1975, Parrish played for the Lakeland Tigers, Detroit's Single-A affiliate in the Florida State League. Detroit's player development director, Hoot Evers, decided to take advantage of Parrish's strong throwing arm and moved him to catcher. During the 1975 season, Parrish struggled with blocking balls in the dirt. Evers also persuaded Parrish, a right-handed batter, to try switch-hitting, an experiment that did not take, as his batting average continued to suffer at.220. Parrish became frustrated and questioned his decision to reject the football scholarship from UCLA.
In 1976, Parrish joined the Montgomery Rebels, Detroit's Double-A team in the Southern League. He was encouraged by Montgomery manager Les Moss to abandon the switch-hitting experiment. He continued to struggle at the plate with a.221 batting average, but he hit for power with 14 home runs and 55 RBIs in 107 games. He also began to develop confidence calling pitches under Moss's guidance and helped the Rebels win the Southern League championship.
In addition to Parrish, the 1976 Montgomery team included future Detroit teammates Alan Trammell, Steve Kemp, Tom Brookens, Jack Morris, and Dave Rozema. Parrish later recalled of his days with Montgomery: "We became a band of brothers in a baseball sense. We pushed one another. We kidded one another. We teased one another. We held each other accountable. I think that transformed us into a championship team in '84."
In 1977, Moss and Parrish were both promoted to the Evansville Triplets, Detroit's Triple-A club in the American Association. In July 1977, Moss noted: "The guy has worked and worked, worked his tail off every morning the last two years and has never complained." Parrish earned a reputation in 1977 as the best defensive catcher in the American Association. Working with Moss and making adjustments to his batting stance, Parrish also blossomed at the plate, raising his batting average by 58 points and compiling a.366 on-base percentage in 115 games. He also hit for power, totaling 25 home runs, 90 RBIs, and 216 total bases, and compiling a.519 slugging percentage.
Before making his major-league debut, Parrish worked briefly in 1977 as a bodyguard to singer Tina Turner, accompanying her to a taping of the Hollywood Squares television show in Burbank, California. Parrish recalled: "It was fun for the time it lasted, but it didn't quite compare to trying to become a big league catcher."

Detroit Tigers (1977–1986)

1977 and 1978 seasons

Parrish played his last minor-league game for Evansville in August 1977 and was called up by the Tigers, making his major-league debut on September 5. Tiger stars Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker also made their Detroit debuts in September 1977.
In Parrish's second game with the Tigers, he scored four runs, hit a home run and a bases-loaded, three-run double, and collected four RBIs, leading Associated Press writer Larry Palladino to write that Parrish "stood out like King Kong atop a phone booth."
In March 1978, Detroit manager Ralph Houk said: "I never saw a catcher with an arm like that. He's a natural – and when you see him with the bat, well, he just looks like a ballplayer. It's only a matter of time before he's gonna be a great one." Parrish was expected to spend 1978 as a backup to regular catcher Milt May, but Houk instead employed a platoon system that alternated between Parrish and May. Parrish hit.219 with 14 home runs.

Breakout season in 1979

In 1979, Les Moss began the season as the Tigers' manager and predicted that Parrish would be a "superstar", pointing to his "tremendous power", his line drives that "can take the gloves off fielders' hands", and noting that he "throws as good as anybody." Parrish became the Tigers' regular catcher, and Milt May was sold to the Chicago White Sox at the end of May. In the middle of June, Sparky Anderson took over from Moss as the Tigers' manager.
Parrish appeared in 143 games in 1979, and with a regular spot in the lineup, his batting average jumped by nearly 60 points from.219 to.276. He also led the team with 26 doubles and hit 19 home runs. Defensively, his plate-blocking skills were tested as he led the American League with 21 passed balls, though he also ranked second among the league's catchers in putouts, assists, and runners caught stealing.

All-Star in 1980

Parrish continued to improve in 1980 and was hitting over.300 early in the first half of the season. Although Carlton Fisk finished first in the fan voting, Earl Weaver, manager of the American League All-Star team, selected Parrish as a backup catcher for the American League. It was the first of eight All-Star appearances for Parrish.
Parrish finished the 1980 season with a career-high.286 batting average. He also ranked among the league leaders with 34 doubles, 64 extra-base hits, a.499 slugging percentage, and 24 home runs. Despite otherwise impressive batting statistics, Parrish ranked second in the league by grounding into 24 double plays and ranked fourth with 109 strikeouts. At the end of the 1980 season, he won the first of his six Silver Slugger Awards as the best hitter at the catcher position.
Defensively, Parrish led the American League catchers in passed balls for the second consecutive season. After the 1980 season, Sparky Anderson opined that Parrish was "starting to come around," but he's "not a superstar." Anderson said that, while Parrish had a great arm and an opportunity to become a superstar, "it's going to take an awful, awful awful lot of hard work – especially in receiving."

Contract extension

In January 1981, Parrish complained publicly about his annual salary. He noted that, despite his All-Star performance in 1980, his $90,000 salary was far lower than other major-league catchers such as Darrell Porter and Jim Essian and a fraction of the $2.8-million contract the Tigers gave to Alan Trammell for seven years. General manager Jim Campbell responded angrily to Parrish's public comments, asserting that the Tigers had offered Parrish a multi-year contract that would have paid him in excess of $375,000 per year. In April 1981, Parrish signed the richest contract in the team's history – $3.7 million for six years.
In 1981, after signing the record-setting contract, Parrish's batting average dropped by more than 40 points to.244, and his slugging percentage dropped by more than 100 points to.394.

Offensive rebound in 1982

After missing most of April with strained ligaments or tendons in his catching hand, Parrish came back strong, carrying a.309 batting average by late May. He was selected to the American League All-Star team and threw out three National League baserunners to set an All-Star Game record. He also had a double in two at-bats.
Parrish's batting average jumped 40 points from.244 in 1981 to.284 in 1982. He also ranked among the league leaders with 32 home runs and a.529 slugging percentage. His 32 home runs established a new American League record for home runs by a catcher, surpassing the previous mark shared by Yogi Berra and Gus Triandos. Defensively, he gave up 11 passed balls but his throwing arm continued to place him among the league leaders at catcher with 76 assists and eight double plays turned.
At the end of the year, he won his second Silver Slugger Award. He also easily won the Tiger of the Year award, receiving 32 of the 42 first-place votes cast by members of the Detroit chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.