Lance Parrish

Lance Michael Parrish (born June 15, 1956), nicknamed "Big Wheel", 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.

Parrish was born in 1956 in Clairton, Pennsylvania, a Pittsburgh suburb.

At age six, Parrish moved with his family to Southern California.

He grew up in Walnut in eastern Los Angeles County.

His father was a deputy sheriff with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Parrish attended Walnut High School where he was the regular catcher for the baseball team as a freshman and sophomore, and then played several positions (including games as a pitcher) as a junior and senior.

Parrish also played for Walnut's football and basketball teams.

In football, he received all-conference honors at three different positions (quarterback, defensive back, and kicker) and was offered a scholarship to play college football for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

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.

Parrish was drafted at age 17 by the Detroit Tigers in the first round (16th overall pick) of the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft.

The Tigers paid him a $67,000 bonus that persuaded him to abandon a letter of intent to play college football for UCLA.

Parrish began his professional career in 1974 as a third baseman for the Bristol Tigers, Detroit's rookie team in the Appalachian League.

Parrish compiled a .213 batting average.

In 1975, Parrish played for the Lakeland Tigers, Detroit's Single-A affiliate in the Florida State League.

Detroit's player development director, Hoot Evers, decided to take advantage of Parrish's strong throwing arm and moved him to catcher.

During the 1975 season, Parrish struggled with blocking balls in the dirt.

Evers also persuaded Parrish, a right-handed batter, to try switch-hitting, an experiment that did not take, as his batting average continued to suffer at .220.

Parrish became frustrated and questioned his decision to reject the football scholarship from UCLA.

In 1976, Parrish joined the Montgomery Rebels, Detroit's Double-A team in the Southern League.

He was encouraged by Montgomery manager Les Moss to abandon the switch-hitting experiment.

He continued to struggle at the plate with a .221 batting average, but he hit for power with 14 home runs and 55 RBIs in 107 games.

He also began to develop confidence calling pitches under Moss's guidance and helped the Rebels win the Southern League championship.

In addition to Parrish, the 1976 Montgomery team included future Detroit teammates Alan Trammell, Steve Kemp, Tom Brookens, Jack Morris, and Dave Rozema.

Parrish later recalled of his days with Montgomery: "We became a band of brothers in a baseball sense. We pushed one another. We kidded one another. We teased one another. We held each other accountable. I think that transformed us into a championship team in '84."

In 1977, Moss and Parrish were both promoted to the Evansville Triplets, Detroit's Triple-A club in the American Association.

In July 1977, Moss noted: "The guy has worked and worked, worked his tail off every morning the last two years and has never complained."

Parrish earned a reputation in 1977 as the best defensive catcher in the American Association.

Working with Moss and making adjustments to his batting stance, Parrish also blossomed at the plate, raising his batting average by 58 points and compiling a .366 on-base percentage in 115 games.

He also hit for power, totaling 25 home runs, 90 RBIs, and 216 total bases, and compiling a .519 slugging percentage.

Before making his major-league debut, Parrish worked briefly in 1977 as a bodyguard to singer Tina Turner, accompanying her to a taping of the Hollywood Squares television show in Burbank, California.

Parrish recalled: "It was fun for the time it lasted, but it didn't quite compare to trying to become a big league catcher."

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 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).

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).

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.