Ted Parks

Theodore Kerins Parks

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.
• School University of California, Berkeley, Chapman College
• Born October 25, 1946 in Broomall, PA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Ted Parks was taken by the Baltimore Orioles 16th overall in the 1966 amateur draft. He was selected between two long-time major leaguers, Richie Hebner and Bob Reynolds. He spent six years in the minor leagues, reaching Triple-A, but never played at the big league level.

In an era when general managers were focused on drafting high school players, Parks was the fourth collegian taken in 1966, after Reggie Jackson, Jim DeNeff and Jim Lyttle. He debuted with the Stockton Ports that summer and did not do well, hitting only .200/.257/.302. He also fielded only .885 at shortstop, his primary position, with 27 errors in 51 games. Moving up to the Miami Marlins in 1967, he batted .238/.292/.317 with 26 steals in 31 tries and 73 runs. He also moved to the outfield, where he fielded .971. He led the Florida State League with 543 at-bats.

In 1968, Ted played for Miami (.158/.237/.228 in 32 G) and the Elmira Pioneers (.186/.235/.207 in 105 G, 13 SB, 10 CS, no hits further than a double). His 9 errors tied for second-most among Eastern League outfielders. Parks showed big strides in 1969, hitting over .300. He started 1969 with the Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs, going 6 for 21 with a double. He then moved to the Kansas City Royals chain. With the Waterloo Hawks, he hit .307/.339/.434. He led the Midwest League in batting average (5 points ahead of Jim Clark), hits (126), total bases (178) and doubles (25, tied with Clark). He had 10 outfield assists and just five errors. Despite this success, he failed to make the MWL All-Star outfield as Don Cunnigan, Gary Matthews Sr. and Jose Stennett were picked. Matthews would have led the league in average had he qualified.

Parks split 1970 between the San Jose Bees (.328/.390/.417 in 44 G) and Omaha Royals (.261/.322/.374 in 84 G). With Omaha, he was used regularly at 3B and 2B, only playing 7 games in the outfield. He was in the outfield for game two of the 1970 Junior World Series, much to manager Jack McKeon's chagrin as Parks made two 2-base errors that helped Omaha fell 5-1 to the Syracuse Chiefs. They would lose the Series in five games. He ended up back with Omaha as a regular outfielder in 1971, hitting .254/.319/.361.

In total, he hit .244 and slugged .331 with 28 home runs in 707 games.