The Pittsburgh Pirates and Dave Parker quietly...

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Dave Parker quietly settled a lawsuit over Parker’s admitted past drug use, avoiding a trial that threatened to drag some of baseball’s biggest names into a Pittsburgh courtroom.

Pirate President Carl F. Barger said that the team had won “a very significant concession” on Parker’s 1979 contract, which required the Pirates to pay him $5.3 million in deferred payments through the year 2007. Parker, now with the Oakland Athletics, played for the Pirates from 1973-83.

Barger said the Pirates and Parker had agreed not to disclose terms of the out-of-court settlement. Asked if Parker had settled for significantly less than $5.3 million, Barger replied, “That’s for sure.”