He played in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cincinnati Reds in 1983 and 1987–1993.

[1][2] Making his big-league debut at age 20 on September 2, 1983, with the Dodgers as a late-season call-up, Espy appeared in 11 games.

[3] On August 31, 1985, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded disgruntled veteran infielder Bill Madlock to the Los Angeles Dodgers for three player(s)-to-be-named-later.

[5][6] Before Espy got a chance to play in the Major Leagues with Pittsburgh, he was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 1986 Rule 5 Draft.

[3] His 1989 season with Texas was arguably the best of his career, where he slashed .257/.313/.331 while stealing a career-high 45 bases (while also getting caught a league-leading 20 times).