MOBILE, Ala. — As the Mobile BayBears prepare to close out a 23-year run, the team is naming its All-Time BayBears Team, with members revealed one at a time ahead of the final game on Sept. 2.
The selections are based on a player’s or coach’s overall career, not just their time in Mobile. The latest honoree is right-handed pitcher Jarrod Parker (2009, 2011).
Parker was selected by Arizona with the ninth overall pick in the 2007 MLB Draft. He arrived in Mobile in 2009 before injuring his elbow in late July, an injury that required Tommy John surgery and forced him to miss the entire 2010 season. Back in Mobile in 2011, Parker went 11-8 and was called up by the Diamondbacks in September after the BayBears won the Southern League title.
Parker was traded to Oakland, and in 2012 he went 13-8 for the A’s. In 2013 he posted a 12-8 record and set a franchise record with 19 starts without a loss. Projected as Oakland’s 2014 opening-day starter, he was injured in spring training and required a second Tommy John surgery. He never pitched in the major leagues again.