Parker HOF election brings back memories of ugly Stearns-Parker collision

“I didn't know where Parker was, but when I looked up he was maybe four feet from me, running full speed ... He was going to try to cremate me.” - John Stearns

The Classic Baseball Era Committee announced that Dave Parker and Dick Allen have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

There are only a handful of grainy photos left but the memory of the 1978 home plate collision between Dave Parker and John Stearns remains fresh in the minds of those who witnessed the event.

Let’s rewind …

The Mets were clinging to a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the ninth as the 31,000 Pirates fans moved to the edge of their seats at Three Rivers Stadium when Parker began creeping down the third baseball line and Bill Robinson at the plate.

Robinson, an excellent contact hitter, was hoping to hit a fly ball to bring Parker home and tie the game. What he didn’t plan for was Joel Youngblood, or Youngblood’s arm, to be more direct.

“I knew they were going to send Parker, even though Youngblood had a good arm,” recalled the late Mets catcher John Stearns. “They were going to make Youngblood throw him out.”