Jim Gabella to be Inducted into Killebrew Root Beer Southwest Florida Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame
July 1, 2025 - Florida State League (FSL)
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels News Release
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Killebrew Root Beer and the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are proud to announce Jim Gabella as the 2025 inductee in the Southwest Florida Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame.
Gabella will become the 20th member of "The Wall" inside Gate 2 at the Lee Health Sports Complex. His induction ceremony will take place prior to the Mighty Mussels' game on Saturday, September 6.
"It's hard to put words to it, being on the wall with so many great scouts, I know most of them personally," Gabella said. "It's a special feeling."
Gabella has spent 49 years working in baseball, with 45 of them coming at the professional level. He was endorsed for the Hall of Fame by several existing members, including 2024 inductee Russ Bove.
"Jim epitomizes what makes a great scout. He knows his territory inside and out and has great judgment and scouting instincts," Bove said. "He is well-respected by his peers, coaches and players. Jim represents the game of baseball with class and dignity."
Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Gabella and his family of seven moved to Deerfield, Florida in 1972, when he was a freshman in high school.
Four years later, he was taken in the 10th round of the MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox. Gabella would play one season in the Sox system before going on to play two years in the Seattle Mariners' organization, and another two years in independent leagues.
Following the conclusion of his playing career, Gabella coached at Deerfield High School, Pompano Beach High School and Broward Community College before returning to professional baseball as a scout with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1986. That season, he was based out of Georgia and covered the south region for the Brewers. It was also that year where he came across the biggest signee of his career in Gary Sheffield, who would go on to hit 509 home runs across 22 big league seasons, while being named to nine All-Star teams.
"When evaluating players, you have to put down what you see, not what you think people want to hear or what other people might think," Gabella said. "You have to put down your honest opinion on a player and stick with it. You can't be indecisive just because another person in the organization might think differently than you, for better or worse, about a certain player."
Gabella then relocated to Orlando and scouted in Florida for Milwaukee in 1987. For the next 16 years, he called Deltona, Florida his home, where he continued his work as a scout and manager. He began his managerial career with the Burlington (NC) Indians of the Appalachian league in 1989. Gabella led the 1993 Burlington team to an Appalachian League Championship. He scouted and managed for Cleveland from 1989-1994 and had a hand in the development of MLB Hall of Famer Jim Thome and slugger Manny Ramirez. He then scouted for the Indians from 1997-2003 in Florida.
Gabella enjoyed his managing years because of the ability to get to know the players on a deeper level and build personal relationships.
In 2004, he relocated to Burlington (IA) to become the manager of the Burlington Bees (Royals, Low-A) in the Midwest League. Gabella led that franchise for six seasons, and then spent the following three years managing in the San Diego Padres' system.
In 2006 he was named the recipient of the Dick Howser Award, which the Royals bestow upon the top member of their player development staff.
Gabella returned to full-time scouting in 2014 as a midwest scout for the San Francisco Giants. He then made his way back to the Sunshine State in 2015 to continue scouting for San Francisco. In recent years, he has signed players such as Grant McCray (son of former big leaguer Rodney McCray), NCAA DII South Region Player of the Year Vaun Brown, and Giants 2024 first-rounder James Tibbs.
McCray made it to the big leagues in 2024, five years after being selected as a third-round pick.
"Seeing them (your players) get to the big leagues is a gratifying thing," Gabella said.
Other future big leaguers Gabella has signed include: Brian Schneider (MON 5th Rd. 1995), Derek Thompson (CLE 1st Rd. 2000), Sam Coonrod (SFG 5th Rd. 2014), Tyler Cyr (SFG 10th Rd. 2015), and David Villar (SFG 11th Rd. 2018).
He added that so much of scouting involved getting to know the players as people as well as evaluating their on field abilities.
Gabella was named the Scout of the Year in the Giants' organization in 2023.
"It was really special and makes everything you do worthwhile," Gabella said.
He credits that honor, and his upcoming induction in Fort Myers, to maintaining the same ideology and core values throughout his career.
"Scouting has always been the same...judge the players and evaluate their tools, and try to know them and evaluate their character the best you can," Gabella said. "Let the front office handle the analytics and pass along what you see firsthand."
It's that firsthand insight that Gabella finds to be invaluable.
"I still have the feeling that I can't wait to get up in the morning and go to the game, either to coach and teach or scout players," Gabella added. "That game day feeling is in your blood."
Working in professional baseball has been passed down through the Gabella family. His son, Cody, is the manager of the Braves Double-A affiliate, the Columbus Clingstones, and is in his fourth season as a manager in the Braves' system.
Gabella credits his lengthy career in baseball to a lesson bestowed upon him by his former manager, Bob Didier, during his time as a player with the Mariners.
"If you're the first one to the ballpark and the last one to leave, you'll stay in the game a long time," Dider told Gabella back in 1978. Gabella is still living out that lesson 47 years later.
Jim currently resides in Deltona with his wife Cindi, and has two grandsons named Devin and Joe, who are trying to carve out their own chapter in the family's baseball legacy.
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