Rob Ellis (2023) - Hall of Fame - Michigan State University Athletics

Rob Ellis

Induction:
2023
Class:
1971

Rob Ellis
Baseball (1970-71)
Grand Rapids, Mich.
MSU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2023

HALL OF FAME FEATURE: CLASS OF 2023

In just two seasons, Rob Ellis left his mark on the Michigan State baseball record book, while becoming the only National Player of the Year in program history.

Ellis came to MSU from Grand Rapids, where he was the top hitter in the city his junior and senior seasons in high school. He was drafted out of high school by the San Francisco Giants in the 34th round of the 1968 MLB June Amateur Draft. Ellis passed up the Giants to improve his talent, pad his stock and stay in school, opting to follow in his older brother, Tom's, footsteps to East Lansing and Michigan State. Tom lettered for the Spartan baseball team in 1967 and 1968.

Younger brother Rob had quick success upon arrival in East Lansing, leading the Spartans in hitting as a sophomore in 1970 with a .380 average, setting a then-school record for single-season hits with 60. Ellis played second base most of the season and posted a team-leading 78 assists in the field. He started his Spartan award collection by earning Third-Team All-Big Ten Conference honors.

Rob Ellis Hall of Fame Graphic

Shifting to primarily an outfielder as a junior in 1971, and just like at second base, Ellis also excelled at his new position, with six outfield assists, an astonishing number for an outfielder. He also exceeded his 1970 stats at the plate, batting an eye-popping .407, and just missing his own year-old hits record by one knock, finishing with 59 hits in 145 at bats. With the .407 average, Ellis became just the 10th member of MSU's ".400 Club," a mark that is still current at No. 20 in the Spartan record book. He had a stellar .848 slugging percentage, a mark that still stands as the school record.

His individual success helped the Spartans experience team success, as Ellis smashed an inside-the-park home run for the lone run in a 1-0 win at the University of Detroit on April 24, 1971, a Victory for MSU that was legendary head coach Danny Litwhiler's 200th victory as the Spartans' skipper.

The home run was Ellis' ninth of the season at the time, tying MSU's single-season mark matching Spartan greats Al Luce (1957) and Steve Garvey (1968) for the record. Less than a week later, Ellis broke the record in dramatic fashion on April 30, 1971, with a 380-foot blast to left-center to boost the Spartans to a win at in-state rival Michigan.

He padded his record with four more home runs that season to finish with 14 round-trippers, a mark that stood for seven seasons when another Spartan legend, Kirk Gibson, broke his record, finishing with 16. The 14 homers by Ellis is still tied for No. 6 on MSU's single-season HR list.

The success by Ellis was just part of many Spartan highlights that season, as the Green & White went on to win the Big Ten title, the school's first league championship since 1954, and the first of Coach Litwhiler's two Big Ten rings. The Spartans boasted a .307 team batting average as a team, along with the pitching staff posting a paltry 2.68 ERA. While the banner season came to a disappointing ending with two losses at home in the first MSU-hosted NCAA regional, the Spartans finished with a 36-10 record, breaking the program record for wins at the time, a mark that is still tied for No. 4 in the MSU record book.

Ellis added another "first" for the Spartans, becoming the first Michigan State baseball player to be named The Sporting News' "College Player of the Year," earning the accolade in 1971. His award collection expanded, including garnering First-Team ABCA All-American and First-Team NCAA District IV All-American accolades, in addition to earning First-Team All-Big Ten honors in 1971.

Following his banner season as one of the best hitters to ever wear an MSU uniform, Ellis had the difficult decision to return for his senior season or advance to the professional ranks. He chose to put his hat in the ring for the MLB Draft, and was drafted in the first round with the third overall selection of the secondary June draft in 1971 by the Milwaukee Brewers, fulfilling that childhood dream of signing a contract to become a professional athlete.

The Brewers rushed him right to the major leagues, and Ellis made his MLB debut on June 18, 1971 against the Oakland Athletics, and got a hit in his first at bat, knocking a pinch-hit single off future Cy Young winner and Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter.

Ellis went on to spend parts of three seasons (1971, 1974, 1975) in the big leagues, seeing action in both the majors and the minor leagues, all the while completing his physical education degree in 1976. He finished his American baseball career in AAA for the Portland Beavers in 1980 before playing one season in the Mexican League for the Mexico City Reds in 1982.