Cole Braden Gillespie (born June 20, 1984) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

, and

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

Amateur career

Gillespie was born in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

and raised in

West Linn, Oregon West Linn is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A southern suburb within the Portland metropolitan area, West Linn developed on the site of the former Linn City, Oregon, Linn City, which was named after U.S. Senator Lewis F. Linn ...

, attending West Linn High School, the alma of former MLB pitcher Mitch Williams. For West Linn, Gillespie was a three-year letterman and won All-State honors as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

and was also a standout

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. Gillespie also competed in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

at West Linn, and later attended

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

. After redshirting his freshman year at Oregon State, Gillespie won the Most Improved Player award his junior season and then later became a captain of the team. As a senior captain, Gillespie helped lead the Beavers to the 2006 Division I

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

over the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

and was also named the

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

Player of the Year.

Career

Milwaukee Brewers

Gillespie was drafted by the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

in the third round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. After going pro in 2006, Gillespie played for their Rookie league

Helena Brewers The Helena Brewers were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pioneer League located in Helena, Montana, from 1978 to 2018. The team played their home games at Kindrick Legion Field, which was built in 1939. They were affiliated with the Milwaukee ...

. He was promoted to the Class A-Advanced Brevard County Manatees in 2007. Gillespie spent the entire 2008 season with the Double-A Huntsville Stars. In 2009, he was promoted to the Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

Arizona Diamondbacks

In late July 2009, he was traded to the

with Roque Mercedes for Felipe López and assigned to Triple-A

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

. Following the season, he was added to the 40 man roster to protect him from the

Rule 5 Draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

, and made his major league debut in a pinch hitting opportunity on April 21, hitting a double and later scoring a run.

San Francisco Giants

On December 21, 2012, Gillespie signed a minor league contract with the

. On July 5, 2013, the Giants purchased his contract and he joined the big league club. After going hitless in 10 plate appearances, he was designated for assignment on July 9, 2013.

Chicago Cubs

On July 13, 2013, the

claimed Gillespie off waivers. He was activated on July 14, and got a pinch hit single that night in the eighth inning against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. He was designated for assignment on September 4, 2013.

Seattle Mariners

Gillespie signed a minor league deal with the

in December 2013. He was added to the 25 man roster, starting in left field for the Mariners on April 25, 2014. Going into a June 10 game against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

, Gillespie was batting .327 with four multi-hit games, and batted in the cleanup spot for the first time in his major league career. He was designated for assignment on July 4.

Toronto Blue Jays

On July 5, 2014, Gillespie was claimed off waivers from the Seattle Mariners by the

. Kenny Wilson was designated for assignment to make room for Gillespie. He made his debut with Toronto on July 6 against the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. He was assigned outright to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on August 3. He elected free agency after the season ended.

Miami Marlins

Gillespie signed a minor league contract with the

on December 6, 2014. He had his contract purchased by the

on June 27, 2015.

Pericos de Puebla

On February 27, 2017, Gillespie signed with the Pericos de Puebla of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

Acerceros de Monclova

On May 20, 2017, he was traded to the Acereros de Monclova for first baseman Nate Freiman. He was released on June 4, 2017.

Sugar Land Skeeters

On June 16, 2017, Gillespie signed with the

Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the G ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. He became a free agent after the 2017 season.

San Diego Padres

On February 28, 2018, Gillespie signed a minor-league contract with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

. He was released on May 3, 2018.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gillespie, Cole 1984 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Arizona Diamondbacks players Baseball players from Portland, Oregon Brevard County Manatees players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chicago Cubs players Dunedin Blue Jays players Fresno Grizzlies players Gulf Coast Blue Jays players Helena Brewers players Huntsville Stars players Major League Baseball outfielders Mexican League baseball outfielders Miami Marlins players Nashville Sounds players New Orleans Zephyrs players North Adams SteepleCats players Oregon State Beavers baseball players People from West Linn, Oregon Baseball players from Clackamas County, Oregon Pericos de Puebla players Reno Aces players San Francisco Giants players Scottsdale Scorpions players Seattle Mariners players Sugar Land Skeeters players Tacoma Rainiers players Tomateros de Culiacán players Toronto Blue Jays players All-American college baseball players