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Pat Burrell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phillies — No. 5 | |
| Left Fielder | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| May 24, 2000 for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2006) |
|
| AVG | .258 |
| RBI | 644 |
| HR | 188 |
Patrick B. Burrell III or Pat Burrell (born October 10, 1976 in Eureka Springs, Arkansas) is an outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball.
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After graduating Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, CA, Burrell attended the University of Miami. Following a standout collegiate career there, where he was the "Most Valuable Player" of the 1996 College World Series, finished second all-time in slugging percentage and won the 1998 Golden Spikes Award, Burrell was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies with the first overall draft choice in the 1998 MLB draft.
Burrell debuted for the Phillies in 2000 and became an instant fixture in the line-up. He was 4th in voting for 2000 NL Rookie of the Year. In 2002, he had a break out season, hitting 37 home runs and knocking in 116 RBIs, proving to be one of the most promising young power hitters in baseball. His 2002 year earned him 14th in NL MVP voting.
Because of his power hitting capabilities, Burrell gained the nickname "Pat the Bat" among Philadelphia fans.
After signing a six-year, $50-million dollar contract with the Phillies before the 2003 season, however, he endured a season-long slump and finished the season batting only .209 with barely half of his previous season's hitting production numbers.
In 2004, Burrell rebounded somewhat, but his year was limited when an injury to his left wrist during batting practice in early August caused him to miss about 40 games. He finished the season with 24 home runs. 2005 would prove to be a very good year for "Pat the Bat" as he hit .281, with 32 home runs and a career high 117 RBIs. His production helped the Phillies come within one game of winning the NL Wild Card slot, losing out to the Houston Astros on the final day of the season. In 2005, Burrell earned 7th place in voting for the NL MVP award.
To his credit, in recent seasons, Burrell has shown an increasing ability to draw walks; however, he continued to strike out frequently and his patience at the plate has been rewarded with a league leading number of called third strikes.
Pat started strong in 2006, but a very poor June saw him hitting .250 with 19HR at the all-star break. By the midway point of the 2006 season, with the Phillies appearing to be slipping from playoff contention, new General Manager Pat Gillick began trading off veteran players such as Bobby Abreu, David Bell, and Cory Lidle. Some fans too felt the players had long term, lucrative contracts and appeared too complacent. The Phillies traded Abreu and Lidle to the New York Yankees and Bell to the Milwaukee Brewers.
While there were reports of a potential trade for Burrell as well, he remained with the Phillies. In August and September 2006, the Phillies began winning with regularity and making a strong run for the National League Wild Card slot, but Burrell was less than a major factor in the Phillies' success, as he both slumped at bat and was given fewer at bats during this time. On September 15, 2006 he did provide the Phillies only runs in a 4-3 victory with a 1st inning grand slam off future Hall of Fame pitcher Roger Clemens. However, his periodic spectacular play was largely overshadowed during 2006 by his inability to deliver hits with runners in scoring position, which routinely drew boos from Phillies fans. While Phillies fans had been known for booing Mike Schmidt and other popular players, the boos and negativity from the fans and even news media were considerably worse than previously for Burrell. Even so, Burrell finished the season with 29 home runs and 95 RBI, both in the top 20 in the NL, despite limited at bats.
Also during the 2006 season, Burrell drew criticism from former Phillies' closing pitcher Billy Wagner, who joined the New York Mets in the 2005 off-season. On May 7, 2006, Wagner revealed that Burrell was one of 24 Phillies who cornered Wagner in a players-only intervention in September 2005, with Burrell calling Wagner a "rat" for criticizing his Phillies' teammates' performance publicly. The confrontation with Burrell, Wagner said, was a primary factor in Wagner's decision to leave Philadelphia for the New York Mets in the 2006 pre-season.
At this point, it is expected that Burrell will remain as the Phillies starting left fielder for the 2007 season. Joining him in the outfield will be center fielder Aaron Rowand and right fielder Shane Victorino. Entering the 2007 baseball season, Burrell has two years left on his contract which includes a full no-trade clause that allows him to veto any trade. Burrell made it be known he would only accept a trade to the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, or a west coast team. Though the Phillies had expressed interested in trading him, no trade was worked out, and Burrell remains with the Phillies.
Burrell's power-hitting potential makes him one of the Phillies most dynamic players who, turning 30 in 2006, might have several more productive playing years ahead of him. Now that it appears he remains with the Phillies in 2007, fans there obviously hope for a good year.
In April 2001, Burrell drew rips from Phillies management and teammates following an interview with him that was published in Penthouse. In it, Burrell discussed a number of sexually-related matters, including the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky affair and his crush on pop music artist Britney Spears.
- Pat Burrell's career statistics at Baseball Reference.com.
- Pat Burrell profile at Phillies.com.
- Pat Burrell profile and statistics at Yahoo Sports.
- "Pat Must Go", an anti-Pat Burrell web site.
- A Pro-Burrell piece and video.
| Preceded by Matt Anderson |
First overall pick in the MLB Entry Draft 1998 |
Succeeded by Josh Hamilton |
| Preceded by Bobby Abreu |
Mike Schmidt Most Valuable Player (with Chase Utley) 2006 |
Succeeded by Ryan Howard |