Conor Gillaspie
Falmouth 2007
Third Baseman
Wichita State
His was a Cape League class full of big hitters and top prospects, from Gordon Beckham and Buster Posey to Yonder Alonso and Reese Havens. Conor Gillaspie might not have been in the same conversation as those guys when the summer of 2007 began.
He was definitely there by the end.
A late arrival after Wichita State’s post-season run, Gillaspie batted fifth in his Falmouth debut and turned in an unassuming 1-for-3 line. The next day he went 0-for-5.
A few days later, he went 4-for-5 with a home run, two doubles and three RBI. It was that kind of summer for Gillaspie. From humble beginnings came one of the best all-around offensive seasons we had seen in a while.
Gillaspie came to Cape Cod after his sophomore season with the Shockers. He hit .325 with six home runs. Good numbers, but not really enough to put him firmly on the national radar.
Once he came to the Cape, everything changed. That 4-for-5 performance was the beginning of a remarkable run. He caught fire in early July, getting a hit in nine straight games. As he got more and more at-bats, his name popped up on the batting average leaderboard. He was flashing power, too, and hitting a lot of doubles and driving in runs. By the time he hit two home runs against Hyannis on July 20, he had placed himself among the league’s stars.
He made the all-star team and didn’t stop hitting. He finished the summer by winning the batting title with a .345 average. He was fourth in home runs with seven, fourth in doubles with 12, second in on-base percentage, first in slugging and first in extra-base hits. Stars from recent years had put up numbers like those in one category, maybe two. Gillaspie shined across the board.
He beat out players like Beckham and Alonso for MVP honors, and it was absolutely the right call. When we talk about a great offensive summer down the line, Gillaspie’s 2007 campaign is one we’ll compare it to.
Yes, his was a class of stars. Gillaspie may have shined brightest.
After the Cape
Gillaspie’s Cape League performance forced scouts to take notice. There wasn’t much of a consensus among them about how his tools projected, but after he hit .419 with 11 home runs as a junior, he was drafted with the 37th overall pick in 2008 by the Giants. He had a cup of coffee with the big club later that summer, but he wasn’t meant to stick around. He spent 2009 in Single A, where he hit .286 with four home runs.
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