The Cincinnati Reds didn’t have many good players between 1977 and 1999 who played for the team that didn’t play on one of the World Series teams. That is the standard that is in use here. Who is the best Red that didn’t play on one of those teams? Or to put it another way, who was the most like perennial NL MVP candidate Joey Votto in the 1980s?
The Cobra, as Parker was called, came over as a free agent in 1983 from the Pittsburgh Pirates. To that date, he was the biggest free agent signing in Reds history and may be to this day.