Alfred Joseph Parent (November 11, 1875 – November 2, 1972 was an

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

player. He played all or part of eleven seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB), between 1899 and 1911, for the St. Louis Perfectos, Boston Americans and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

, primarily as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

. Parent batted and threw right-handed. He was born in

Biddeford, Maine Biddeford is a city in York County, Maine, United States. It is the principal commercial center of York County. Its population was 22,552 at the 2020 census. The twin cities of Saco and Biddeford include the resort communities of Biddeford Po ...

. Listed at , 154 lb., Parent was known primarily for his fielding skills, but he also was a solid hitter and an intelligent baserunner. Twice he hit .300, including a career-high .306 in 1901, and led the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s in 1902. He broke up three no-hit bids, as he got his club's only hits in these games. At shortstop, defensive play saved Cy Young's perfect game. He also was a member of the Boston team who clinched in 1903 the first

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in major league history. In a 12-season career, Parent was a .262 hitter (1306-for-4984) with 20

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 471 RBI in 1327 games, including 180

doubles Men's doubles, Women's doubles or Mixed doubles are sports having two players per side, including; * Beach volleyball * Doubles badminton * Doubles curling * Footvolley * Doubles pickleball * Doubles squash * Doubles table tennis * Doubles te ...

, 74 triples, 633 runs and 184

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe o ...

s. In the

1903 World Series The 1903 World Series was the first modern World Series to be played in Major League Baseball. It matched the American League (AL) champion Boston Americans against the National League (NL) champion Pittsburgh Pirates in a best-of-nine series, wit ...

, he hit .281 (9-32) with eight runs and four RBI. Parent was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in 1911 after a pay dispute with

Charles Comiskey Charles Albert Comiskey (August 15, 1859 – October 26, 1931), nicknamed "Commy" or "The Old Roman", was an American Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League, and was also ...

. In 1914 Baltimore signed

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

. Parent coached Ruth more than anybody else at the time. Due to low attendance owner Dunn began to sell players. He visited the Red Sox and closed the sale of Ruth with help of Parent who was trusted by player-manager Bill Carrigan. In the fall of 1960, Parent appeared on the television program ''

I've Got A Secret ''I've Got a Secret'' is an American panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show, ''What's My Li ...

'' alongside Pittsburgh Pirate Tommy Leach, as a commemoration of participating in the first World Series in 1903. Parent died in Sanford, Maine, at the age of 96. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving participant of the inaugural 1903 World Series.

References

External links

The Deadball Era
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parent, Freddy Major League Baseball shortstops St. Louis Perfectos players Boston Americans players Chicago White Sox players Portland (minor league baseball) players New Haven Blues players Providence Clamdiggers (baseball) players Providence Grays (minor league) players Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Springfield Ponies players Minor league baseball managers Baseball players from Maine 19th-century baseball players People from Biddeford, Maine People from Sanford, Maine 1875 births 1972 deaths

See also

References

External links