Games 1791, AVE .293, OBP .380, SLG .527, OPS .906, H 1792, 2B 489, 3B 47, HR 282, RBI 1135, SB 6 |
Notes: For Albert Gillespie, it was really only a matter of time before he became the first Essex Hall of Famer in history. Although we initially planned the ceremony after he retired, we decided to honor him for his work without delay.
For 14 years, Gillespie was one of the most dominant hitters in Essex history. He made the All Star Game as a 1B four times, was named an All-League 1B twice, and made the United States National Team 6 times in his decorated career. Gillespie played in the third most games of any position player in franchise history (1791 games) and holds the third best career batting average, has the third most career hits, the second most career doubles, and the second most home runs in franchise history. In addition, Gillespie has the second most runs, the most RBI, the second highest OBP, the highest slugging percentage, the second highest OPS, and the third most Game MVPs for a position player in franchise history.
It is extremely rare that such a distinguished and all-around dominant player comes to Essex, and we could not even imagine anybody else becoming a Hall of Fame player before Gillespie. He deserves it more than anybody else, and we are extremely privileged to be Gillespie's team for 14 glorious years. |