Bernard Gilkey

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Bernard Gilkey

|image=Bernard Gilkey - Springfield Cardinals - 1988.jpg

|caption=Gilkey in 1988

|position=Left fielder

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1966|9|24}}

|birth_place=St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=September 4

|debutyear=1990

|debutteam=St. Louis Cardinals

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=October 7

|finalyear=2001

|finalteam=Atlanta Braves

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Batting average

|stat1value=.275

|stat2label=Home runs

|stat2value=118

|stat3label=Runs batted in

|stat3value=546

|teams=

St. Louis Cardinals ({{mlby|1990}}–{{mlby|1995}})
New York Mets ({{mlby|1996}}–{{mlby|1998}})
Arizona Diamondbacks ({{mlby|1998}}–{{mlby|2000}})
Boston Red Sox ({{mlby|2000}})
Atlanta Braves ({{mlby|2001}})

}}

Otis Bernard Gilkey (born September 24, 1966) is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, and Atlanta Braves. He is currently a coach for the Palm Beach Cardinals.

Career

Gilkey played basketball at St. Louis's University City High School and signed a letter of intent to play college basketball for Drake University.{{cite news|last1=Diamos|first1=Jason|title=BASEBALL;A Veteran's Leadership Is Sought From Gilkey|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/01/sports/baseball-a-veteran-s-leadership-is-sought-from-gilkey.html|access-date=21 December 2017|work=The New York Times|date=1 February 1996}} However, fearing that he was not tall enough to be a great basketball player, he chose to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals as an undrafted free agent after graduating from high school in 1984.{{cite book|last1=Eisenbath|first1=Mike|title=The Cardinals Encyclopedia|date=1999|publisher=Temple University Press|isbn=9781566397032|page=191|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hymGG28xYcoC&q=bernard+gilkey+basketball+scholarship&pg=PA191|access-date=21 December 2017|language=en}}

In 1989, Gilkey led the league with 53 stolen bases and 109 runs while playing for the Double-A Arkansas Travelers. In 1990, he led the league with 75 walks while playing with Triple-A Louisville Redbirds and eventually reached the MLB team. In 1991, he was the first rookie to start for the Cardinals on opening day in left field since Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst in 1945.{{cite book | editor = Cardinals' Media Relations | year = 2001 | title = St. Louis Cardinals 2001 Media Guide | publisher = Hadler Printing Company | pages = A79–A83}}

In 1992, Gilkey hit .302 in 131 games with the Cardinals. Gilkey batted over .300 twice more during his career.

In January 1996, Gilkey was traded by the Cardinals to the New York Mets. Gilkey arguably had his strongest season in 1996. His .317 average was eighth in the National League, while his 44 doubles ranked fourth (and also set a Mets single-season record). Gilkey finished fourteenth in National League MVP voting that year. Gilkey and center fielder Lance Johnson formed a formidable offensive one-two punch as outfielders in their first year with the Mets. Gilkey led the league with 18 outfield assists from that year—one of six double-digit assist years in his career, with his career-high being 19 outfield assists in 1993, which tied for the league lead.

Gilkey's statistics dropped off substantially the next year, as his batting average fell to .249. In 1998, Gilkey was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Gilkey's offensive numbers were less impressive in the latter years of his career and his playing time declined, although he did rebound to hit .294 in 1999. He was released by the Diamondbacks in the middle of the 2000 season and signed with the Boston Red Sox as a free agent.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WEogAAAAIBAJ&pg=6760,879059&dq=red-sox+bernard-gilkey&hl=en|title=Red Sox sign Gilkey, recall lefty Young|date=5 July 2000|work=The Tuscaloosa News|page=5B|access-date=1 June 2010}} Gilkey made the playoffs as a Diamondback in 1999 and in 2001 with the Atlanta Braves. Gilkey's career ended after the 2001 season.

Career statistics

In 1239 games over 12 seasons, Gilkey posted a .275 batting average (1115-for-4061) with 606 runs, 244 doubles, 24 triples, 118 home runs, 546 RBI, 115 stolen bases, 466 walks, 352 on-base percentage and .434 slugging percentage. Defensively, he recorded an overall .983 fielding percentage.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gilkebe01.shtml|title=Bernard Gilkey Statistics and History|work=Baseball Reference.com|accessdate=July 14, 2021}}

Personal life

As of 2014, Gilkey was living in St. Louis with his wife, Patrice. They had two sons, Jaelen and Caeven. Jaelen played baseball in NCAA Division II at Miles College{{cite news|last1=Gilbert|first1=Steve|title=Gilkey tests coaching chops at Fantasy Camp|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/gilkey-tests-coaching-chops-at-fantasy-camp/c-66773308|access-date=21 December 2017|publisher=Major League Baseball|date=January 17, 2014}} and Caeven played at High Point University.{{cite web|title=Caeven Gilkey - 2018 Baseball|url=http://highpointpanthers.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=6882&path=baseball|publisher=High Point University|access-date=21 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222104828/http://highpointpanthers.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=6882&path=baseball|archive-date=22 December 2017|url-status=dead}}

Gilkey had a small role in the 1997 film Men in Black. The climax of the film took place in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in New York City near Shea Stadium, home of the Mets. Gilkey appeared in his real-life role as a Mets outfielder. Gilkey was distracted by a massive spacecraft above Shea Stadium (actually one of the two circular observation towers from the 1964 World's Fair) and was hit on the head by a fly ball.