Although the one count of felony cocaine possession that Gillies faced after his arrest in late August was eventually dropped, the incident left both the player and the organization red in the face. According to the arrest report, Gillies was spotted by a police officer standing on the side of U.S. 19 in Clearwater at 3:20 a.m. on the morning of June 11. He was waving his shirt above his head and, according to the report, was visibly intoxicated. The officer ended up driving Gillies, who was rehabbing his hamstring injury, back to his hotel. But when Gillies exited the vehicle, the police officer spotted a bag of white powder lying on the back seat, the report said. When test results on the substance came back in August positive for cocaine, Gillies was arrested.
The incident was a stunner for everybody in the Phillies organization, all of whom knew Gillies as an affable hard worker who sprinted through drills at full speed.
"It was a very devastating thing for both me and my family and friends," Gillies said. "Everybody couldn't believe everything. The most upsetting thing for me is that people even had a chance to question my character, which I value so much."
Gillies said he made the club aware of it immediately after it happened, so his arrest a month later did not come as a surprise.
The club immediately placed the outfielder in its Employee Assistance Program, run by former major leaguer Dickie Noles.
