Best Cincinnati Reds Ever: Ken Griffey Sr. v. Dave Parker

First Round Matchup | No. 6 Ken Griffey v. No. 11 Dave Parker

Griffey:

Ken Griffey Sr. certainly wasn’t his son, but he was still a three-time All-Star for the Cincinnati Reds from 1973-81. He was a key contributor on the back-to-back World Series champion squads in 75 and 76. His numbers during the playoffs don’t jump off the screen sporting just a .240 average, but he did knock in 11 runs, was a perfect 8 for 8 on steal attempts and struck out just eight times in 20 postseason games.

Senior’s regular season numbers are more impressive. While he didn’t have the lethal power-speed combination of his son, Griffey did carry a career .303 average with the Reds with 71 home runs and 156 stolen bases. He had a .370 OBP, had 212 doubles and 63 triples. Outside of raw over-the-fence power, a reasonable case can be made for Senior being the better hitter. He also had two 10-20 seasons as well as a 34 stolen base season in 1976.

More from Blog Red Machine

• Reds: Sonny Gray should not be traded this offseason
• Cincinnati Reds playoff odds drop well-below 50-percent
• Reds vs. Cubs: Pitching preview, prediction, and more
• Reds prospect: Rece Hinds finding his power after prolonged stint on IL
• Reds prospects: Bryce Bonnin excelling at every minor league level

He didn’t become a starter for the Reds until 1975 when he took over right field, eventually forming what became known as the Great 8. Griffey added an All-Star Game MVP in 1980 as the Big Red Machine as we knew it came to a close.

He returned to Cincinnati in 1990 — the next and most recent World Series winning Reds team — but did not finish the season in Cincinnati following his release and eventual agreement with Seattle where he played 21 games with his son.

He was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 2004.

Parker:

Dave Parker was a perennial All-Star, Gold Glove winner and Most Valuable Player … early in his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was an elite run producer and paired it with an average well above .300. The Cincinnati Reds didn’t quite get that player when they signed the 33 year old in 1984, but he wasn’t far from it.

After hitting .285 with 16 home runs and 11 steals in his first season, The Cobra exploded in years two and three. In 1985, Parker returned to the All-Star game and won the Silver Slugger award after leading the league in RBIs and producing a .312 average, 34 home runs, and a league-leading 42 doubles. He finished runner-up in the MVP voting to Willie McGee. Parker followed himself up in ’86 with 31 home runs, 116 RBIs, 31 doubles and a .276 average — and again was an All-Star, Silver Slugger and finished fifth in the MVP voting.

Parker’s stint with the Reds was only for four years, but in that time he smacked 107 home runs, 432 RBIs, 129 doubles, had a .281 average and nearly won a second MVP award.

If that wasn’t enough, Parker added a cannon of an arm in right field asserting himself as a legitimate five-tool player. However, he was not elected into the Hall of Fame exhausting his 15 years of eligibility in 2011 with just 15.3 percent of the votes. Parker was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 2014 despite four seasons with the club.

*Side note: Parker was the first professional athlete to earn an average off $1 million per year after signing a five year $5 million deal with the Pirates in 1979.

Next: Find the full bracket here!

You can find the Twitter poll at @blogredmachine. Sign up for Twitter and give us a follow if you have yet to do so!