Gerardo Parra

Gerardo Enrique Parra (born May 6, 1987) is a Venezuelan professional baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals and for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Parra is a two-time Gold Glove Award winner. He won the 2019 World Series with the Nationals.

Gerardo Parra
Parra at the White House in 2019
Free Agent
Outfielder
Born: (1987-05-06) May 6, 1987
Santa Barbara del Zulia, Venezuela
Bats: Left Throws: Left
Professional debut
MLB: May 13, 2009, for the Arizona Diamondbacks
NPB: June 19, 2020, for the Yomiuri Giants
MLB statistics
(through 2019 season)
Batting average.276
Home runs88
Runs batted in522
NPB statistics
(through 2020 season)
Batting average.267
Home runs4
Runs batted in13
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Career

Arizona Diamondbacks
Parra during his tenure with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2011

On May 13, 2009, he was called up from AA (Double A) Mobile BayBears when left fielder Conor Jackson was placed on the disabled list.[1] 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 history to hit a home run in his first at bat.[2]

In his first five games he had at least one RBI, becoming the second player since Mike Lansing (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.[3]

In 2011, Parra broke out batting .292 with 8 home runs and 46 runs batted in. 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.[4]

After an outstanding season defensively Parra was awarded the 2011 National League Left Fielder Gold Glove award on November 1, 2011.[5]

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 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.[6][7]

Milwaukee Brewers

On July 31, 2014, the Diamondbacks traded Parra to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for minor leaguers Mitch Haniger and Anthony Banda.[8] Parra hit between Arizona and Milwaukee .261 with 9 home runs and 40 RBI's.

Baltimore Orioles
Parra with the Orioles in 2015

On July 31, 2015, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Zach Davies.[9] 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 five hits were the most hits he had collected in a nine-inning game.

Colorado Rockies
Parra with the Rockies in 2018

On January 19, 2016, Parra signed a three-year contract with the Colorado Rockies.[10] 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 and making him a free agent.[11]

San Francisco Giants

On February 12, 2019, Parra signed a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants that included an invitation to spring training.[12] In 30 major league games for the Giants, he batted .198/.278/.267.[13] He was designated for assignment on May 3, 2019.

Washington Nationals

On May 9, 2019, Parra signed a one-year major league contract with the Washington Nationals.[14][15] His first hit with the team was a go-ahead grand slam in a May 11 game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.[16]

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.[17] He gave up 5 runs on 1 hit and 4 walks before being replaced by another position player, Brian Dozier, and the Nationals eventually lost 18–7.[17] The 25 career pitches thrown by Parra are the most without retiring a batter since at least 2000.[18]

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.[13] 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". This became a crowd favorite throughout the second half of 2019, as crowds at Nationals Park began to sing along and do the accompanying motions whenever Parra came up to bat.[19] 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,[20] and then again when Parra was called up to pinch-hit in Games 3,[21][22] 4, and 5 of the 2019 World Series vs. the Houston Astros. The Nationals won the World Series in 7 games, their first in franchise history.[23]

Yomiuri Giants

On November 20, 2019, Parra signed a one-year contract with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball.[24][25]

On December 2, 2020, he become a free agent.[26]

See also

References
  1. Schlegel, John (May 13, 2009). "Shorthanded D-backs call up outfield help". MLB.com. Retrieved November 2, 2009.
  2. Singer, Tom (May 13, 2009). "Parra goes deep in first career at-bat". MLB.com. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
  3. Rubin, Adam. "espn.com". Espn.go.com. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  4. http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/29807/gerardo-parra
  5. "Dodgers, Red Sox trios lead Gold Glove winners". ESPN.com. 2011-11-02. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  6. "D-backs outlast Phillies in game lasting over 7 hours". espn.com. August 25, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  7. "D-backs win longest game in franchise history". mlb.com. August 25, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  8. "Arizona Diamondbacks trade Gerardo Parra to Milwaukee Brewers for prospects Mitch Haniger and Anthony Banda". Arizona Sports. 2014-07-31. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  9. Todd, Jeff (July 31, 2015). "Orioles Acquire Gerardo Parra". mlb traderumors. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  10. Harding, Thomas (January 19, 2016). "Parra officially a Rockie, thrilled to play at Coors". MLB.com. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  11. "Rockies decline $12.5M option on outfielder Gerardo Parra". Fox Sports. October 30, 2018.
  12. Adams, Steve (February 12, 2019). "Giants, Gerardo Parra Agree To Minor League Deal". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  13. "Gerardo Parra Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  14. "Nationals agree to terms with Gerardo Parra". mlblogs.com. Nationals Communications. May 9, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  15. Dougherty, Jesse (May 9, 2019). "Nationals sign outfielder Gerardo Parra to 1-year deal". washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  16. Dougherty, Jesse (May 11, 2019). "New arrival Gerardo Parra's grand slam lifts Nationals over Dodgers". washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  17. "Washington Nationals at Arizona Diamondbacks Box Score, August 3, 2019". Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  18. "Pitching Season & Career Finder: Spanning Multiple Seasons or entire Careers, From 1871 to 2020, (requiring Pit>=1 and IP=0.0), Stats only available back to 2000, sorted by greatest Pit". Stathead. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  19. Shaikin, Bill (October 5, 2019). "Nationals' Gerardo Parra starts stadium craze with 'Baby Shark' song". latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  20. "Nationals Gerardo Parra Baby Shark walk-up - NLCS Game 4 (video)". youtube.com. YouTube. October 17, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  21. "Baby Shark takes World Series Game 3 by storm". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. October 25, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  22. Anderson, R.J. (October 26, 2019). "World Series: Fueled by 'Baby Shark', Gerardo Parra has become surprising key in Nationals' postseason run". cbssports.com. CBS Sports. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  23. Castrovince, Anthony (October 31, 2019). "Washington Nationals win 2019 World Series". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  24. "Gerardo Parra agrees to deal with Yomiuri Giants". MLB.com. November 20, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  25. "パーラ外野手と契約合意". 読売巨人軍公式サイト (in Japanese). November 20, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  26. "2020年度 自由契約選手". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved January 9, 2021.
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