RetroSimba

Bernard Gilkey hoped to cap his playing career with a second stint for his hometown team, the Cardinals, but it didn’t work out.

On Jan. 5, 2001, the Cardinals signed Gilkey, a free agent, to a minor-league contract for $700,000 and invited him to spring training to try for a spot as a reserve outfielder.

The Cardinals’ top three outfielders, J.D. Drew, Jim Edmonds and Ray Lankford, all batted from the left side. A right-handed batter, Gilkey, 34, was projected as someone who could fill in against left-handed pitching.

Making his mark

Gilkey, a St. Louis native, began his career with the Cardinals and played for them from 1990-95. He had his best season as a Cardinal in 1993, hitting .305, with 40 doubles, and scoring 99 runs.

In January 1996, a month after the Cardinals acquired outfielder Ron Gant, Gilkey was traded to the Mets. He had a career year for the 1996 Mets, hitting .317, with 44 doubles and 30 home runs. He drove in 117 runs and scored 108.

The Mets traded Gilkey to the Diamondbacks in July 1998. Two months later, he had laser eye surgery to fix a retina and improve his vision.

On the outs

In February 1999, the Diamondbacks and Pirates agreed to a trade of Gilkey for Al Martin and Tony Womack.

One issue needed to be resolved for the trade to be completed: the clubs wanted to revise terms about deferred money in Gilkey’s contract. The revision required Gilkey’s approval in order for the trade to go through.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “that deferred money, $5 million paid into an annuity that will pay Gilkey $1 million a year for 25 years, was the rub in this trade.”

The Diamondbacks came up with a new plan for paying the deferred money, but Gilkey rejected it and refused to approve the trade.

Two days later, the Pirates sent Womack to the Diamondbacks for a pair of prospects.

Womack, who played second base for the Pirates, was put in right field by the Diamondbacks and Gilkey was moved to the bench.

A year later, Gilkey seldom played and struggled to hit. In one miserable stretch, he had one hit in 47 at-bats.

“It was just like I wasn’t part of the team,” Gilkey told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “There’s only so much cheering you can do.”

In June 2000, with his batting average for the season at .110, Gilkey was released. A few days later, the Red Sox signed him. Gilkey hit .231 in 36 games for the 2000 Red Sox and became a free agent after the season.

Good opportunity

The Cardinals got a good report on Gilkey from Red Sox assistant general manager Lee Thomas, who was director of player development for the Cardinals in 1984 when Gilkey first signed with them as an amateur.

“I think he’s got enough left where he could be a productive player off the bench,” Thomas told the Post-Dispatch.

Gilkey was one of several free-agent outfielders signed by the Cardinals in January 2001 to compete for spots as reserves. Others included Bobby Bonilla and John Mabry.

Regarding his return to the Cardinals, Gilkey said, “When I got the opportunity, I thought the baseball gods were back on my side.”

Gilkey said he was motivated to keep playing because he wanted to regain respect he thought had been lost. “I’m playing for pride now,” he said.

No vacancy

The Cardinals gave Gilkey a long look at spring training in Florida. The emergence of rookie Albert Pujols provided more competition for the outfield spots on the roster.

Before opening the season in Denver, the Cardinals went to Oakland and Seattle to play exhibition games. Gilkey made the trip, along with Bonilla, Mabry and Pujols. The Cardinals figured to keep two of the four as outfielders on the Opening Day roster. Drew, Edmonds and Lankford had locks on the other outfield spots.

On April 2, the eve of the 2001 season opener, the Cardinals put Mabry and Pujols on the roster, placed Bonilla on the disabled list and released Gilkey. According to the Post-Dispatch, Gilkey batted .196 in spring training exhibition games, but hit the ball better than the average showed.

“Gilkey had a pretty good spring training,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “He just had some guys do better.”

Gilkey said, “It’s just the way the ball bounces. I don’t feel like I was deprived or deceived or anything like that.”

Still in the game

According to the Post-Dispatch, Gilkey had indicated he might retire if he didn’t get a spot on the Cardinals’ roster, but the Braves contacted him and made a convincing pitch. “They told me there was a very good chance things would work out,” Gilkey said.

On April 12, 2001, Gilkey signed a minor-league contract with the Braves. He went to their Richmond farm team and hit .271 in 13 games.

The Braves called up Gilkey on May 4 when they were in Atlanta for a series against the Cardinals. 

“I thought I had a pretty decent spring training,” Gilkey told the Atlanta Constitution, “but when I went down to Richmond I got a lot of at-bats, so that helped.”

In his Braves debut, Gilkey was sent into the May 4 game against the Cardinals in the ninth inning. Dave Veres struck him out on a split-fingered pitch to end the game. Boxscore

The next night, manager Bobby Cox started Gilkey in left field and batted him seventh in the order. Gilkey responded with two hits, including a two-run home run, against starter Rick Ankiel in a 6-5 victory for the Braves. Boxscore

“Without that home run, we wouldn’t be quite so happy right now,” Cox said.

Gilkey hit .274 in 69 games for the 2001 Braves, who qualified for the playoffs and reached the National League Championship Series before being defeated by the Diamondbacks.