Lance Parrish 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.
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71 Facts About Lance Parrish
2.
Lance Parrish later played for the Philadelphia Phillies, California Angels, Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Toronto Blue Jays.
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3.
Lance 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.
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4.
Lance Parrish was a member of the Tigers' coaching staff from 1999 to 2001 and 2003 to 2005.
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5.
Lance Parrish was the color commentator on Detroit Tigers television broadcasts in 2002.
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6.
Lance Parrish was a minor-league manager of the San Antonio Missions, Ogden Raptors, Great Lakes Loons, Erie SeaWolves, and West Michigan Whitecaps.
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7.
Lance Parrish was born in 1956 in Clairton, Pennsylvania, a Pittsburgh suburb.
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9.
Lance Parrish's father was a deputy sheriff with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
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10.
Lance 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.
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11.
Lance Parrish was drafted at age 17 by the Detroit Tigers in the first round of the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft.
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13.
In 1975, Lance Parrish played for the Lakeland Tigers, Detroit's Single-A affiliate in the Florida State League.
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14.
Lance Parrish became frustrated and questioned his decision to reject the football scholarship from UCLA.
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15.
In 1976, Lance Parrish joined the Montgomery Rebels, Detroit's Double-A team in the Southern League.
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16.
Lance Parrish was encouraged by Montgomery manager Les Moss to abandon the switch-hitting experiment.
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17.
Lance Parrish began to develop confidence calling pitches under Moss's guidance and helped the Rebels win the Southern League championship.
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18.
In 1977, Moss and Lance Parrish were both promoted to the Evansville Triplets, Detroit's Triple-A club in the American Association.
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19.
Lance 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.
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20.
Lance Parrish appeared in 143 games in 1979, and with a regular spot in the lineup, his batting average jumped by nearly 60 points from.
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21.
Defensively, Lance Parrish led the American League catchers in passed balls for the second consecutive season.
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23.
Lance Parrish was an avid weightlifter during his playing years, giving him one of the most muscular bodies in baseball.
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24.
Lance Parrish's weightlifting created conflict with manager Sparky Anderson who believed that bulking up too much would ruin a player's flexibility and hamper his effectiveness.
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25.
Lance Parrish ranked among the league leaders with 13 sacrifice flies, 42 doubles, 72 extra-base hits, 292 total bases, and 27 home runs.
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26.
Lance Parrish ranked among the league's leaders at catcher with 695 putouts, 73 assists and eight double plays turned.
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27.
Lance Parrish ranked fourth in the league among players at all positions with a defensive Wins Above Replacement rating of 2.
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28.
Lance Parrish ranked ninth in the voting for the American League Most Valuable Player award.
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29.
Lance Parrish appeared in 147 regular-season games and all eight post-season games for the 1984 Detroit Tigers team that led the American League from the first game to the last and won the 1984 World Series against the San Diego Padres.
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30.
The Tigers began the season with 35 wins and 5 losses, and for the first time in his career, Lance Parrish led the fan voting to be the starting catcher in the All-Star Game.
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31.
Lance Parrish received 1,524,616 votes, over 700,000 votes more than second-place finisher Carlton Fisk.
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32.
Batting as the clean-up hitter, Lance Parrish hit 33 home runs, breaking his own American League record for most home runs in a season by a catcher.
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33.
In 1985, Lance Parrish had another strong season, though he was unable to play at catcher for three weeks in July due to a lower back strain.
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34.
In 1986, Lance Parrish began the season strong, totaling 21 home runs and 59 runs batted in at the All-Star break.
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35.
Lance Parrish again was chosen for the All-Star team, but back problems sidelined him for much of the second half.
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36.
Lance Parrish appeared in only 91 games, 82 as the team's starting catcher.
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37.
On March 13,1987, Lance Parrish signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as a free agent.
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38.
Lance Parrish grounded into 23 double plays, the second highest total in the National League.
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39.
Lance Parrish had never ranked among the American League leaders in that category.
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40.
Lance Parrish did regain form defensively, leading the National League catchers with 11 double plays turned and ranking second in the league with 73 assists and 50 runners caught stealing.
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41.
Lance Parrish was selected to the National League All-Star team in 1988, but his back problems continued, and he became "a lightning rod for fan discontent" as the Phillies finished in last place in 1988.
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42.
Lance Parrish, who lived in Yorba Linda, California, reportedly signed a one-year contract providing a $1 million base salary and a potential for up to $400,000 in bonuses.
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43.
Lance Parrish was the Angels starting catcher from 1989 to 1991, starting over 100 games at the position each year.
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44.
On June 28,1992, Lance Parrish signed as a free agent to become a backup to catcher Dave Valle of the Seattle Mariners.
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45.
In January 1993, Lance Parrish signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers and accepted an invitation to spring training.
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46.
Lance Parrish spent part of the 1993 season playing in the Dodges farm system for the Triple-A Albuquerque Dukes.
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47.
Lance Parrish appeared in only 10 games, tallying four hits in 20 at bats.
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48.
In February 1994, Lance Parrish signed a free-agent contract with the Detroit Tigers.
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49.
Lance Parrish spent part of the 1994 season playing for the Tigers' Triple-A team, the Toledo Mud Hens.
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50.
In February 1995, Lance Parrish signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Royals.
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51.
Lance Parrish was then acquired by the Toronto Blue Jays on April 22,1995.
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52.
Lance Parrish appeared in 70 games for the Blue Jays, including 49 games as the team's starting catcher.
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53.
Lance Parrish appeared in his final major-league game on September 23,1995, at age 39.
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54.
Lance Parrish signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates in January 1996.
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55.
Lance Parrish was an eight-time All-Star, and he won three Gold Glove Awards.
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56.
Lance Parrish was a six-time winner of the Silver Slugger Award, which is awarded annually to the best offensive player at each position.
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57.
Lance Parrish led American League catchers twice in baserunners caught stealing, once in assists, and once in caught stealing percentage.
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58.
Lance Parrish was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.
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59.
In June 1996, Lance Parrish was hired by the Kansas City Royals as a special catching instructor to work with catcher Mike Sweeney.
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61.
In October 1998, Lance Parrish was hired as the Detroit Tigers' third base and catching coach.
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62.
Lance Parrish spent two games as interim manager in July 1999 when regular manager Larry Parrish was suspended for bumping an umpire.
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63.
When Phil Garner took over as manager, Lance Parrish was reassigned as bullpen coach for the 2000 season.
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64.
Lance Parrish returned to his role as third base coach in 2001, but he was fired by ganer at the end off the 2001 season.
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65.
In December 2001, Lance Parrish was hired to served as the color commentator on Detroit Tigers game broadcasts on Detroit's WKBD television station during the 2002 season.
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67.
In January 2006, Lance Parrish was hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers as manager of their rookie-level team, the Ogden Raptors.
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68.
Lance Parrish next served as manager of the Great Lakes Loons in Single-A ball during the 2007 season.
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69.
On February 5,2014, Lance Parrish was named manager of the Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, the Erie SeaWolves.
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71.
On November 12,2019, Lance Parrish was named special assistant to the general manager for the Tigers.
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