Nifty Fifty! Gillespie is 50th NECBL Alum to Reach ’15 MLB
The NECBL has entered the Fabulous 50s.
Miami Marlins OF Cole Gillespie pinch hit in today’s Marlins-Dodgers game. Gillespie was recalled from Triple-A New Orleans when slugger Giancarlo Stanton went to the disabled list with a broken bone.
Gillespie, a member of the 2005 North Adams SteepleCats, becomes the 50th NECBL alumnus to play in the Major Leagues this season. An NECBL graduate has suited up for 25 of Major League Baseball’s 30 teams in 2015.
At the time of his call up Gillespie was hitting .291 with seven steals for New Orleans. In 113 Big League games over four seasons, the Oregon State speedster had a .230 batting average and 25 RBIs.
Gillespie played for North Adams for just seven games, where he hit .286 with a steal and played errorless defense.
“That was my first time out East and it was a short period of time, but what I remember most was the hospitality they showed me out there,” Gillespie told NECBL.com in an April 2012 interview. “(Then-GM) Sean McGrath and (then-owner/host Dad) John DeRosa. It was a good experience to get out there and there was good competition in that League.”
Gillespie led Oregon State to a College World Series crown in 2006 days after being a third round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers. He made his Major League debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks in April 2010.
