Billy Parker

William David Parker

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 168 lb.
• School Alabama State University
• High School Central High School (Hayneville)
• Debut September 9, 1971
• Final Game September 29, 1973
• Born January 14, 1942 in Hayneville, AL USA
• Died February 9, 2003 in Sun City West, AZ USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Infielder Billy Parker played in the majors from 1971 to 1973, all three seasons with the California Angels. He played mainly second base and third base but was never a regular, as in his busiest season, 1973, he started just 30 games at second and had 102 at-bats, his highest total as well. He batted .222 in 94 major league games with a slugging percentage of just .290. The greatest highlight of his career came in his major league debut, on September 9, 1971, when he became the first player ever to hit a walk-off home run in his first career game; his solo blast in the bottom of the 12th inning off Floyd Weaver of the Milwaukee Brewers gave the Angels a 3-2 win.

He went to Alabama State University but was not drafted, instead signing with the Angels as an amateur free agent before the 1969 season when he played 111 games with the Quad Cities Angels of the Midwest League, hitting .274. He was in AA with the El Paso Sun Kings in 1970, batting .287 with 21 homers in 116 games, and with the AAA Salt Lake City Angels in 1971, where he batted .306 with 27 homers and 115 RBIs in 144 games, earning him a September call-up. However, his excellent minor league numbers never translated to the majors. He spent part of both the 1972 and 1973 seasons with Salt Lake City and hit .298 both years. He and Manny Trillo were the 1973 PCL East All-Star second basemen.

Following the 1973 season, he was taken by the New York Yankees in the 1973 Rule V Draft. While he never played for the major league team, he was with the AAA Syracuse Chiefs in both 1974 and 1975, hitting .301 in 65 games the first year and .313 in 39 games the second. He never got the call to New York, however, and was released after starting 1976 slowly with Syracuse. He ended up in the Mexican League where he played in 1976 and 1977 for the Sultanes de Monterrey and Plataneros de Tabasco.

The field at Surprise Stadium is named Billy Parker Field in his honor.