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Cecil Espy
From BR Bullpen
Cecil Edward Espy
- Bats Both, Throws Right
- Height 6' 3", Weight 195 lb.
- High School Point Loma High School
- Debut September 2, 1983
- Final Game June 13, 1993
- Born January 20, 1963 in San Diego, CA USA
Biographical Information
"In scouting-report jargon, Cecil switch-hits, steals bases, has some power at the plate, and as an outfielder made the great running catch." - from an article in Texas Monthly, June 1985, about Cecil Espy while at San Antonio
Cecil Espy played eight seasons in the major leagues. While he played mostly center field, he appeared at every other position on the field except for pitcher.
Espy was born in San Diego, CA and attended high school there. He was a first-round pick in the 1980 draft and played in the rookie league that summer for the Chicago White Sox organization at age 17.
After the 1981 season he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Rudy Law. He hit .317 for Vero Beach in 1982 and after playing for San Antonio during most of 1983 he came up in September for a cup of coffee with the 1983 Dodgers, who went on to win the division that year.
Espy went back to San Antonio for both 1984 and 1985, and the team made an effort to turn him into an infielder-outfielder, even sending him to Mexico during the winter for experience. He was traded in September 1985 for Bill Madlock. He played for Hawaii in 1986 and Oklahoma City in 1987, hitting .302. He also came up for 14 games with the 1987 Texas Rangers.
Fortune was about to change for Espy. After many years in the minors and two major league cups of coffee, he finally became more-or-less a major league regular in 1988. Because he had started so young in the minors, he was still only 25 years old. Espy is not listed as one of the regulars for the 1988 Rangers because Pete Incaviglia appeared more often in left field, but overall Espy was in more outfield games than Pete (98 to 93 games) because Espy often also played in center field.
Cecil was also a regular in 1989, stealing 45 bases.
He went on to play in the majors in 1990-93, but spent a lot of time in the minors during those years. In 1991 his Pirates won the division as he appeared in 43 games with them. He was up the entire season in 1992 with the 1992 Pirates, a team for which he appeared in 112 games. The team won 96 games, tops in the division, and Espy often played alongside fellow outfielder Barry Bonds, the MVP. In post-season play, Cecil went 2-for-3.
In 1994 he played for San Bernardino.
His father, Cecil Espy, was a scout for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1979 to at least 1990.
The Texas Monthly issue cited above contains a photo of Espy.
