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Gillaspie Cape Cod Baseball League MVP

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  • Gillaspie Cape Cod Baseball League MVP



    Crack of the Bat
    by Patrick Ebert

    Cream of the Cape

    Another summer season on the Cape has come and gone, with the Chatham A's, the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, the Falmouth Commodores and the Bourne Braves advancing to the Cape Cod League playoffs. Yarmouth-Dennis has sat atop PG Crosschecker's Summer 16, finishing the regular season first in batting and second in pitching, and are the favorite to once again take home the championship trophy, which would be their second consecutive championhip and third in four years.

    All of the summer collegiate leagues give college players an excellent opportunity to play with and against some of the best players in the nation while using a wood bat, which is a very similar opportunity high school players are given through Perfect Game showcase and tournament events. Like showcase events, these summer leagues always seem to produce a player or two that makes the most of his opportunity to squarely put himself at the top of scout's follow lists.

    That player this year is Conor Gillaspie, a third baseman fromWichita State who played for Falmouth this summer. Gillaspie's season was very similar to Evan Longoria's two years ago, in that both players were good offensive performers, but I don't think anyone expected either one of them to explode on the Cape using the wood bat the way they did. Longoria of course became the third overall pick by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 2006 draft, and has already soared to AAA hitting for average and impressive power at every stop.

    Longoria was named the MVP of the 2005 Cape season by leading the league in slugging (.500) home runs ( 8 ) and RBI (35), while also finishing tied for first in extra-base hits and third in hits.

    Gillaspie finds his name sitting at the top of similar offensive categories, leading the league this summer in batting (.345) slugging (.691), and extra-base hits (21) while finishing second in on-base percentage (.448), tied for second in doubles (12) and finishing third in home runs (7).

    Again, it's not like Gillaspie came out of nowhere, as he has enjoyed two very productive seasons at Wichita State and a nice summer playing for the Santa Barbara Foresters of the California League a summer ago.

    Physically, you wouldn't expect him to have the kind of offensive dominance that he had. With athletic yet lean proportions, Gillaspie employs a simple approach at the plate in which he's looking to drive the ball wherever he’s pitched. He gets good extension with his long arms, and has solid bat speed.

    Gillaspie is poised to be named the league's MVP, no matter what happens during the playoffs, and has also improved his stock tremendously as he looks forward to his junior year and the 2008 draft.

  • #2
    Well played Connor. Lets hope he brings that momentum back to Wichita.
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    • #3
      Evan is having a great year in the minors. Expect him to be up with the big club next year if not next month.

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      • #4
        Connor's a stud. He hit about 60% of his potential at the plate this spring.

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        • #5
          Way to go Conor!

          Those are very impressive numbers in what is usually considered a pitcher's league. :posterwu:

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          • #6
            The latest entertainment news in Hyannis, MA from Cape Cod Times. Follow movies, music, theater, books, dance, visual arts and more.


            Nice article on Conor in the Cape Cod times.

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            • #7
              Great articles. Thanks for positng.

              Maybe Conor should use Wood Bats during this year's college season.

              Congrats to Conor for the hard-earned recognition.

              :posterwu: :goshocks: :posterwsu:

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              • #8
                .345 BA with the wood. Wow!

                Taking the level of pitching into account, I'd guess that might equate to high-A or AA-level minor league production.

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                • #9
                  More and more he reminds me of Casey Blake.

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                  • #10
                    Conor is an amazing kid. He's not what you would call a naturally gifted athlete, but has turned himself into a tramendous player with a work ethic that's second to none. If there is any player at any level of baseball that works harder than Conor, I want to see him. He just continues to surprise me.

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                    • #11
                      I think that's two summers in row (that I know of) - that Conor has performed better than in the school season.....
                      although the best things in life are free, upgrades are usually available

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by tripleshock
                        I think that's two summers in row (that I know of) - that Conor has performed better than in the school season.....
                        Hopefully he will break that trend this year.

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                        • #13


                          Another article about winning the batting title.

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                          • #14
                            As they said in Cool Hand Like, Conor got his mind right, and the result was a stellar performance this summer. He will definately be a leader on the team.

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                            • #15
                              If he could hit at that same .345 clip this year with 10-15 homers, it would make a world of difference. It feels like ages since we have had 3 or more players who hit more than ten homers in the same season.

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