MLB Fan Blog ranking at 28th! Howl At The Moon!!

August 6, 2009

Thank you all that visit my blog and comment!!  I made #28 in the Fan ranking!!   Thank you so much!!  28 is also the day I was born.  

I dedicate the #28 ranking to Wes Parker!

I had a chance to talk to Wes Parker last year at the 60’s luncheon. I talked to him about his cycle and who he thought had a better chance to accomplish that since at that time he was the last Dodger player to hit for cycle. Wes Parker has also participated in the WIN (Women Initiative Network) baseball clinics. What a thrill for us fans it was to be on the field learning from such greats as Jeff Kent and Wes Parker.

What a great opportunity the 60’s luncheon was to talk to the Boys of Summer of the 60’s!!.

West Parker ruled first base from 1964 to 1972.  In the process he won six gold gloves for fielding excellence.  He retired early at age 32.

After leaving the Dodgers, Parker played in Japan for a year, was a TV commentator for several years for the USA Network, became an actor and did lots of commercials.  Then he took a job with the Dodgers as a speaker, which he still does today.  In addition, he donates one day a week working for the Braille Institute.  “I talk to them about sports, about whatever sport is in season at the time.” he says.  

Wes Parker acting debut was on the now classic TV comedy “The Brady Bunch” in 1970.  He plays himself in an episode called “The Undergraduate” in which “Greg” is failing math because he has a crush on his math teacher.  Wes Parker shows up at the end of the show as the teacher’s fiance and gives Greg who is a baseball fan, an autograph and tells him if he gets an A in math he’ll give him two tickets to Opening Day. 

Wes Parker who grew up a Dodger fan said:

“When the Dodgers first moved out here my father had season tickets right behind first base and we would watch Gil Hodges and my dad would say “just think, maybe you’ll be out there one day’, “reminisced Parker. “I said  no way, those guys are too good.  but I begged the Dodgers for a chance to play. spend one year in the minor leagues and the next year I was right where my father said I would be- playing first base where Gil Hodges had been two years before. It was really an amazing story.”  

 

Howl at the Moon!!   

Randy Wolf will be on the mound tonight on a full moon!   This is rematch of last’s week matchup with Derek Lowe.   Good luck Lobo!  I hope you howl to the moon victoriously!

 

credit: http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/archive/index.php/t-2819.html 

Written by crzblue Posted in Dailies Tagged with Wes Parker Cycle Gold Gloves Gil Hodges The Dodgers Randy Wolf Derek Lowe