As a Major League Baseball catcher, Lance Parrish traveled about 30,000 miles every season. Along with a World Series ring, three Gold Gloves and six Silver Slugger awards, he also racked up a lot of frequent-flyer miles over his 19 seasons.

Born in Pennsylvania and raised in California, Parrish was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 1974. He made his MLB debut in 1977 and was there to stay through the 1995 season. He made eight All-Star games, six with the Tigers, for whom he played his first decade. Finishing his career with Toronto, his seventh team, Parrish ended with 324 home runs and a .252 batting average. Most baseball analysts rank him among the top 25 catchers of all time, and I agree.

Parrish discussed his career, including being drafted, playing with the iconic Mark “The Bird” Fidrych, catching a Jack Morris no-hitter and winning the World Series with the 1984 Tigers. That last achievement is the focus of his book, The Enchanted Season.

With co-author Tom Gage, Parrish takes the reader onto the field and into the clubhouse as the Tigers led the American League from start to finish. It’s filled with fascinating insight and previously unseen pictures. As the Tigers celebrate the 40th anniversary of their World Series win, Parrish delivers a new look into it all.

Of course, as someone who flew more than half a million miles during his career, Parrish discussed his experiences on and off the field in different cities. Parrish reflected on the highs of the Detroit cheers and the lows of the Philadelphia jeers, although he humbly blames his substandard seasons there.

Parrish will travel again, as he goes out on a book tour. Although these miles will probably be within Michigan, the tour will produce more travel stories. If you can’t make any of the tour stops, The Enchanted Season is available on Amazon.

Talking Travel is an interview series on Global Traveler. Subscribe to the GT YouTube channel to be notified of all future interviews and other travel-related videos.

— John Wroblewski, online writer