Gerardo Enrique Parra (born May 6, 1987) is a Venezuelan former

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

. He 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

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

, Milwaukee Brewers,

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

and

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

, as well for the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). Parra is a two-time Gold Glove Award winner. He was on the Nationals when they won the 2019 World Series.

Career

Arizona Diamondbacks

On May 13, 2009, he was called up from AA (Double A)

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

when

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

Conor Jackson Conor Sims Jackson (born May 7, 1982) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 2005 and 2011 for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland Athletics, and Boston Red Sox. H ...

was placed on the disabled list. He was inserted into the starting lineup the same day, and in his first Major League at bat he became the 100th player in

MLB 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), ...

history to hit a home run in his first at bat. In his first five games he had at least one RBI, becoming the second player since

Mike Lansing Michael Thomas Lansing (born April 3, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and the Boston Red Sox between 1993 and 2001. During his playing days, he had the nickname “The L ...

(1993) in the last 30 years to accomplish this feat. Parra was named NL Rookie of the Month for May and reached base in each of his first 17 games. In 2011, Parra broke out batting .292 with 8

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 46

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. Not only did he do well offensively, he also established himself as a threat with his powerful throwing arm, throwing out runners on various occasions. He was a very underrated player in 2011 as he was a key ingredient in leading the Diamondbacks turnaround. After an outstanding season defensively Parra was awarded the 2011 National League Left Fielder Gold Glove award on November 1, 2011. In an 18-inning game on 24–25 August 2013 at the Philadelphia Phillies, Parra collected a career-high five hits. The teams drew a combined 28

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

, a National League record. The Diamondbacks' 18 walks tied the National League mark. The game lasted seven hours and six minutes, the longest in franchise history for both clubs.

Milwaukee Brewers

On July 31, 2014, the Diamondbacks traded Parra to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for minor leaguers Mitch Haniger and

Anthony Banda Frank Anthony Banda (born August 10, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Washington Nationals organization. He played college baseball for San Jacinto College. The Milwaukee Brewers selected Banda in the tenth round of the ...

. Parra hit between Arizona and Milwaukee .261 with 9 home runs and 40 RBI's.

Baltimore Orioles

On July 31, 2015, he was traded to the

for

Zach Davies Zachary Ryan Davies (born February 7, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondba ...

. After a slow start with the O's, Parra tied a career-high in hits with five on August 16 in an 18–2 victory over the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. The five hits were the most hits he had collected in a nine-inning game.

Colorado Rockies

On January 19, 2016, Parra signed a three-year contract with the

. In his first season as a Rockie, he spent time on the disabled list. He played in 102 games, hitting just .253/.271/.399 with a strikeout to walk ratio of 73/9. He bounced back the following season, hitting career highs in average (.309) and RBIs (71). On April 13, 2018, Parra was suspended for four games due to his involvement in a brawl that occurred with the Padres two days prior. He ended his three-year contract hitting .284/.342/.372 with 6 home runs and 53 runs batted in. On October 30, 2018, the Rockies declined the 2019 option on Parra's contract, instead paying him a $1.5 million

buyout In finance, a buyout is an investment transaction by which the ownership equity of a company, or a majority share of the stock of the company is acquired. The acquiror thereby "buys out" the present equity holders of the target company. A buyout ...

and making him a free agent.

San Francisco Giants

On February 12, 2019, Parra signed a minor league deal with the

that included an invitation to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. In 30 major league games for the Giants, he batted .198/.278/.267. He was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

on May 3, 2019.

Washington Nationals

On May 9, 2019, Parra signed a one-year major league contract with the

. His first hit with the team was a go-ahead grand slam in a May 11 game against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. In a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 3, Parra was called upon to pitch in the 8th inning with the Nationals trailing 11–4. He gave up 5 runs on 1 hit and 4 walks before being replaced by another position player,

Brian Dozier James Brian Dozier (;born May 15, 1987) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. The Minnesota Twins selected Dozier in the eighth round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his MLB debut in 2012 and he played in ...

, and the Nationals eventually lost 18–7. The 25 career pitches thrown by Parra are the most without retiring a batter since at least 2000. In 2019 with the Nationals he batted .250/.300/.447. Between the Giants and the Nationals combined, in 2019 he batted .234/.293/.391 with nine home runs and 48 RBIs in 274 at bats. During his time with the Nationals, at the suggestion of his children, Parra changed his walk-up music to the popular children's song "

Baby Shark "Baby Shark" is a children's song associated to a dance involving hand movements that originated as a campfire song dating back to at least the 20th century. In 2016, "Baby Shark" became very popular when Pinkfong, a South Korean entertainment ...

". This became a crowd favorite throughout the second half of 2019, as crowds at

Nationals Park Nationals Park is a baseball stadium along the Anacostia River in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Home to Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals since its completion in 2008, it was the first LEED-certified green major profe ...

began to sing along and do the accompanying motions whenever Parra came up to bat. Fans throughout the stadium were seen doing the "shark dance" when Parra was called up to bat in Game 4 of the 2019 National League Championship Series, and then again when Parra was called up to pinch-hit in Games 3, 4, and 5 of the 2019 World Series vs. the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

. The Nationals won the World Series in 7 games, their first in franchise history.

Yomiuri Giants

On November 20, 2019, Parra signed a one-year contract with the

. In 47 games with Yomiuri, Parra slashed .267/.305/.384 with 4 home runs and 13 RBI. On December 2, 2020, he became a free agent.

Washington Nationals (second stint)

On February 3, 2021, Parra signed a minor league deal to return to the

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

to begin the season. On June 20, Parra was selected to the active roster. On March 13, 2022, Parra resigned a minor league deal with the

. Parra retired on May 8, 2022, and took a front office job with the Nationals.Washington Post
/ref>

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parra, Gerardo 1987 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players Albuquerque Isotopes players Arizona Diamondbacks players Baltimore Orioles players Colorado Rockies players Gold Glove Award winners Hartford Yard Goats players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Milwaukee Brewers players Missoula Osprey players Mobile BayBears players Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders People from Zulia Reno Aces players Rochester Red Wings players San Francisco Giants players South Bend Silver Hawks players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Japan Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Visalia Oaks players Washington Nationals players World Baseball Classic players of Venezuela Yomiuri Giants players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players