Thomas Anthony Parsons (born September 13, 1939) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

(1963) and New York Mets (1964–65). The native of Lakeville, Connecticut, was listed as tall and . Parsons' professional career lasted for 13 seasons (1957–69). After he signed with Pittsburgh, the right-hander spent seven full years in their

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

, but he would make only one appearance in a Pirate uniform, as the

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

in an 8–0 defeat in his debut against the

Milwaukee Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

on September 5, 1963. The following year was chaotic. Parsons began the season pitching at Triple-A

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

, then was traded by Pittsburgh to the

Houston Colt .45s 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 s ...

in June. After he got into 19 games for Houston's Triple-A affiliate, the Oklahoma City 89ers, the June trade was cancelled and Parsons returned to the Pirates, who in turn sold his contract to the Mets. Parsons then worked in four September 1964 games, including a September 20 start against his former organization, Houston; Parsons went the distance and gave up only six

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but lost, 1–0. His only full year in the majors came in , for the last-place Mets. Parsons appeared in 35 games, with 11 starting assignments. He lost ten of 11 decisions but his lone win was a

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

shutout against the

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July 5 at Shea Stadium in the second game of a doubleheader.Retrosheet box score: 1965-07-05 (2)
/ref> He also registered his only MLB save that season; that came June 3 against his original team, the Pirates. His final appearance came in relief on September 9 at Cincinnati's

Crosley Field Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second (1937) an ...

. Parsons compiled a 2–13 (.133)

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and a 4.72 earned run average during his MLB career. In 40

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although except ...

(14 career starts), he allowed 135 hits and 25

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 ...

in 114

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. He struck out 70 hitters. He pitched four more seasons of minor league baseball, returning to the Houston organization from 1966–68 before concluding his career in 1969 in his native New England in the Boston Red Sox organization.

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1939 births Living people Baseball players from Connecticut Columbus Jets players Grand Forks Chiefs players Idaho Falls Russets players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Mets players Oklahoma City 89ers players People from Lakeville, Connecticut Pittsfield Red Sox players Pittsburgh Pirates players Salem Rebels players Salt Lake City Bees players Housatonic Valley Regional High School alumni {{US-baseball-pitcher-1930s-stub