| Lance Parrish | |
|---|---|
 Parrish in 1983 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: June 15, 1956 Clairton, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 5, 1977, for the Detroit Tigers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 23, 1995, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .252 |
| Home runs | 324 |
| Runs batted in | 1,070 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Non-MLB stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Lance Michael Parrish (born June 15, 1956), nicknamed "Big Wheel",[1] is an American former baseball catcher who played Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1977 through 1995. Born in Pennsylvania, Parrish grew up in Southern California and excelled in both baseball and football. He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 1974, and after four years in the minor leagues, he played for the Tigers for a decade from 1977 to 1986. He later played for the Philadelphia Phillies (1987–1988), California Angels (1989–1992), Seattle Mariners (1992), Cleveland Indians (1993), Pittsburgh Pirates (1994), and Toronto Blue Jays (1995).
Parrish helped lead the Tigers to the 1984 World Series championship, was selected as an All-Star eight times (1980, 1982–1986, 1988, 1990), and won six Silver Slugger Awards (1980, 1982–1984, 1986, 1990) and three Gold Glove Awards (1983–1985). Over his 19 MLB seasons, he compiled a .252 batting average with 324 home runs, and 1,070 runs batted in (RBIs). At the time of his retirement, he ranked fourth in major-league history in home runs by a catcher and seventh in games played at the position.
After his playing career, Parrish worked as a catching instructor, coach, manager, and broadcaster. He was a member of the Tigers' coaching staff from 1999 to 2001 and 2003 to 2005. He was the color commentator on Detroit Tigers television broadcasts in 2002. He was also a minor-league manager of the San Antonio Missions (1998), Ogden Raptors (2006), Great Lakes Loons (2007), Erie SeaWolves (2014–2017), and West Michigan Whitecaps (2018–2019).
- ^ George Sipple (April 2, 2007). "Big Wheel keeps turning: Lance Parrish leads Midland's Loons". Detroit Free Press. p. 13C – via Newspapers.com.