Blake Parker

Richard Blake Parker (born June 19, 1985) is an American professional baseball relief pitcher in the Seattle Mariners organization. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs.

Career

Prior to playing professionally, Parker attended Fayetteville High School and then the University of Arkansas. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 16th round of the 2006 amateur draft, being signed by scout Brian Milner.

He began his professional career in 2007, splitting the season between the AZL Cubs (11 games) and Boise Hawks (8 games), going a combined 2-0 with a 2.39 ERA. In 2008, he played for three teams - the Peoria Chiefs (23 games), the Daytona Cubs (20 games), and the Iowa Cubs (two games) - going 4-2 with a 2.13 ERA and 12 saves in 45 games combined. In 71 2/3 innings, he allowed only 50 hits while striking out 75 batters. He split the 2009 season between the Tennessee Smokies (10 games) and Iowa Cubs (45 games), going a combined 2-3 with a 2.70 ERA, saving 25 games in 55 appearances. In 63 ¹⁄₃ innings, Parker allowed 44 hits and struck out 77 batters.^[1]

He began the 2010 season with the Iowa Cubs and split the year between Iowa (35 games) and Tennessee (13 games), going a combined 1-5 with a 4.21 ERA. In 2011, he went 4-5 with a 3.23 ERA in 53 games split between Iowa (37 games) and Tennessee (16 games). The Cubs promoted him to MLB on May 17, 2012.^[2] Parker was released from the Cubs in May of 2015. On December 17th, Parker signed a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners.

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)