Richard Blake Parker (born June 19, 1985) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who is currently a free agent. He previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the Chicago Cubs,

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

. Parker was drafted by the Cubs in the 16th round of the 2006 MLB draft, and made his major league debut in 2012.

Career

Amateur

Parker was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He attended Fayetteville High School in Fayetteville, and the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (ori ...

. In 2005, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Bourne Braves The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Braves play their home games at Doran Park on the ca ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Parker was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 16th round of the 2006 MLB draft, being signed by scout

Brian Milner Brian Tate Milner (born November 17, 1959) is a former professional baseball player. He played two games in Major League Baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1978 as a catcher. Career Milner was drafted in the 7th round of the 1978 amateur draf ...

Chicago Cubs organization

Parker began his professional career in 2006 as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, and

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

, and did not start pitching until 2007, splitting the season between the

AZL Cubs The Arizona Complex League Cubs are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays it home games at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. The team is composed mainly of player ...

(11 games) and

Boise Hawks The Boise Hawks are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. Home games are played at Memorial Stadium in Garden City, Idaho, a small city surroun ...

(8 games), with a combined record of 2–0 and a 2.39 ERA. He was an AZL post-season All Star in 2006. In 2008, Parker played for three teams—the

Peoria Chiefs The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and are named for the Peor ...

(23 games; with whom he was a

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

mid-season All Star), the

Daytona Cubs Daytona refers to the city of Daytona Beach, Florida, or things named after it. Daytona may also refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as ...

(20 games), and the Iowa Cubs (two games)—going 4–2 with a 2.13 ERA and 12 saves in 45 games combined. In 71 innings, he allowed only 50 hits while striking out 75 batters. He split the 2009 season between the

Tennessee Smokies The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off ...

(10 games) and Iowa Cubs (45 games), going a combined 2–3 with a 2.70 ERA, saving 25 games in 55 appearances. His 22 saves with Iowa were 5th-most in the Pacific Coast League. In innings, Parker allowed 44 hits and struck out 77 batters. He then played for Mesa in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...

, and was named a Rising Star. Parker began the 2010 season with the Iowa Cubs, and split the year between Iowa (35 games) and Tennessee (13 games), going a combined 1–5 with a 4.21 ERA. In 2011, he went 4–5 with a 3.23 ERA in 53 games split between Iowa (37 games) and Tennessee (16 games). The Cubs promoted him to MLB on May 17, 2012. He pitched only six innings with the Cubs in 2012. In 2013 with the Cubs he was 1–2 with one save and a 2.72 ERA, in 49 games, as he struck out 55 batters in 46 innings. In 2014 with the Cubs he was 1–1 with a 5.14 ERA, in 18 games, as he struck out 24 batters in 21 innings. With Iowa, he was 0–1 with a league-leading 25 saves and a 1.77 ERA in 35 games. He was a Pacific Coast League mid-season and post-season All Star in 2014. In 2015 he did not pitch in the major leagues, and was limited to three games at Triple-A Iowa, as he had season-ending surgery to remove loose bodies in his right elbow. Parker was released from the Cubs in May 2015.

Seattle Mariners (2016)

On December 17, Parker signed a minor league deal with the

. The Mariners promoted Parker to the major leagues on August 4, 2016, and he pitched only one scoreless inning for them in 2016. In 2016 he was again a Pacific Coast League mid-season All Star, playing for Tacoma.

New York Yankees (2016)

On August 9, 2016, the

claimed Parker off of waivers. With the Yankees, he was 1–0 with one save and a 4.96 ERA in 16 games. After the 2016 season, the

claimed Parker from the Yankees off of waivers. On November 23, 2016, Parker was claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers designated him for assignment in December, and he was claimed by the Angels on December 23.

Los Angeles Angels (2017–18)

The Angels named Parker to their Opening Day 25-man roster for the 2017 season. In his first season as an Angel, Parker enjoyed career bests in every statistical category. He was 3–3 with 8 saves and a 2.54 ERA, with 86 strikeouts in 67 innings, and pitched in 71 games (6th-most in the American League). His WHIP of 0.83 tied for third-best among American League relievers. Parker signed a $1.8 million contract with the Angels for the 2018 season. Despite pitching to a 2–1 record with a 3.26 ERA in 67 games while also collecting 14 saves, striking out 70 batters in 66 innings, and finishing 41 games (8th-most in the American League), he was non-tendered by the Angels in the offseason.

Minnesota Twins (2019)

On January 14, 2019, Parker signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Twins. On July 24, Parker was designated for assignment by the Twins. In 2019 with the Twins, he was 1–2 with 10 saves and a 4.21 ERA, in 37 games.

Philadelphia Phillies (2019–2020)

On July 30, 2019, the Philadelphia Phillies signed Parker to a major league contract. For the Phillies in 2019, he was 2-1 with a 5.04 ERA in 23 games (2 starts; the first of his professional career) over 25.0 innings in which he struck out 31 batters (11.2 strikeouts per 9 innings). Parker re-signed with the Phillies organization on a minor league deal on February 5, 2020. On August 11, Parker was selected to the active roster. In 2020 for Philadelphia, Parker pitched to a 3-0 record with a 2.81 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 16.0 innings pitched in 14 appearances. On October 30, 2020, Parker was outrighted off of the 40-man roster and elected free agency.

Cleveland Indians (2021)

On February 16, 2021, Parker signed a minor league contract with the

organization, worth $2.5 million in incentives, and was invited to the Indians' 2021 major league spring training camp. He began the 2021 season with the Columbus Clippers of the newly-formed

Triple-A East The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. On June 5, 2021, Parker was selected to the active roster. Parker became a free agent on November 3, 2021.

St. Louis Cardinals (2022)

On March 26, 2022, Parker signed a minor league contract with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. He was released on July 6, 2022.

Personal life

Parker and his wife, Jordan, have three sons and one daughter.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Blake 1985 births Living people Arizona League Cubs players Arkansas Razorbacks baseball players Baseball catchers Baseball players from Arkansas Boise Hawks players Bourne Braves players Chicago Cubs players Cleveland Indians players Daytona Cubs players Iowa Cubs players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball pitchers Mesa Solar Sox players Minnesota Twins players Naranjeros de Hermosillo players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico New York Yankees players Sportspeople from Fayetteville, Arkansas Peoria Chiefs players Philadelphia Phillies players Seattle Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players Tennessee Smokies players Waikiki Beach Boys players