Dave Parker, Dick Allen are elected to baseball's Hall of Fame

Two of the biggest sluggers of their era finally received baseball’s highest honor, as Dave Parker and Dick Allen were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in voting by the Classic Baseball Era Committee. Results were announced Sunday evening from Dallas at the start of the Winter Meetings.

The 16-member Classic Era Committee evaluated an eight-man ballot. Players needed to receive at least 12 votes to gain election. Parker received 14 and Allen 13.

Parker and Allen will officially be inducted to Cooperstown on July 27, along with any players who earn election from the BBWAA vote (which will be announced January 21).

The Classic Era Committee (known in the past as the Veteran’s Committee) ballot primarily included candidates who started play before 1980, including players from the Negro Leagues. Tommy John received 7 votes. Each of the remaining candidates (Luis Tiant, Steve Garvey, Ken Boyer, Vic Harris, and John Donaldson) received less than 5 votes.

A veteran of 19 seasons in the big leagues spanning from 1973-1991, Parker was a .290/.339/.471 hitter who hit 339 home runs and drove in almost 1,500 runs. The seven-time All-Star won a pair of Gold Glove Awards for his work in right field, a pair of batting titles, and was named the NL MVP in 1978 with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Allen spent 15 years in the majors from 1963-1977, hitting .292/.378/.534 with 351 homers. The 1964 AL Rookie of the Year went to seven All-Star games and won the AL MVP in 1972 with the Chicago White Sox.

Baseball writers didn’t give Allen much HOF consideration following the end of his career but has increasingly been a common choice among fans when asked about those snubbed from induction. Recent years, in particular, have only increased the attention Allen has received with the increased understanding of analytics helping put his career in more perspective.

Twice he fell a single vote shy of induction in past appearances on the Eras Committee ballots.