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On this episode, we sit down with Jim Essian. Jim started his 46-year professional baseball career in 1970 with the Philadelphia Phillies in their minor-league system where he was tagged as a Topp’s Rookie All-Star. Over the next three years, he excelled at all levels of Minor League Baseball earning All-Star recognition at almost every level before breaking into the Big Leagues with the Phillies in 1973. For the next 11 years, Essian played in the Major Leagues with the Phillies, A’s, White Sox, Mariners and the Indians. After his playing career, Essian became a manager with the Miami Marlins before moving to the Chicago Cubs organization in 1986. In his second season as manager of the Winston-Salem Spirits, Essian brought home the Carolina League championship and was named Manager of the Year. In 1991 he took the reigns as manager for the Chicago Cubs. In 2000, Essian was inducted into the Reading Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2016, Essian worked alongside Paul Noce of the Diamond Hoppers in the USPBL.

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