Pat Burrell
Philadelphia Phillies — No. 5 | |
Left Fielder | |
Born: October 10, 1976 | |
Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
Major League Baseball debut | |
May 24, 2000 for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
Selected MLB statistics (through October 1, 2007) |
|
AVG | .258 |
RBI | 741 |
HR | 218 |
Teams | |
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Patrick Brian Burrell III or Pat Burrell, nicknamed Pat the Bat (born October 10, 1976 in Eureka Springs, Arkansas) is the starting left fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball. He currently resides in the affluent Rittenhouse Square neighborhood of center city Philadelphia.
Contents |
Career
University of Miami
After graduating Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, California, Burrell attended the University of Miami, in Coral Gables, Florida, one of the premiere collegiate baseball programs in the nation.
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.
Minor Leagues
Pat began his career in Class A with the Clearwater Phillies in the Florida State League, where he joined fellow prospects Jimmy Rollins and Brandon Duckworth on a team that finished a game out of first place.
Phillies debut and 2002 success
Burrell debuted for the Phillies in 2000 as a first baseman, later moving to the outfield 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.
2003 slump
After signing a six-year, $50-million dollar contract with the Phillies before the 2003 season, he endured a season-long slump and finished the season batting only .209 with barely half of his previous season's hitting production numbers.
2004 and 2005
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.
2006 season
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 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 and his OPS was only two points lower than it was the previous season (.890 from .892).
2007
As with 2006, Burrell batted well in April, but slumped in May and June, his batting average this time dropping to .201 on July 1, and he was benched for a few games at a time. His BABIP during this time was unusually low (.161 in May and .136 in June.) Burrell had a career .300 BABIP, so it was very likely he was running into some very bad luck. He followed up his possibly unluckiest month of his career with just what he needed, his luckiest. He hit .435 for the month of July with a .564 OBP and a .768 SLG. He followed up his amazing July with a .290 AVG In August with 10HR and a .368 OBP and .650 SLG and he was moved to the 3rd spot in the lineup, also winning back a lot of fans. Burrell finished the regular season hitting .256 with 30 HR (tied for 14th in the NL) and a .400 OBP (a career high) and .502 SLG. Burrell's second-half performance were credited as a crucial factor in the Phillies come-from-behind victory over the heavily favored New York Mets, as Burrell hit well over .300 with 19 HR's and more than 60 RBIs, including two homeruns in a dramatic 11-10 win over the Mets at Citizen's Bank Park that left the Mets swept in a 4-game series, and 4 homeruns in the series overall.
He hit his 200th career home run on July 17th and his 1000th career hit on August 17th. On the last day of the 2007 season, the Phillies with Burrell clinched the NL East division to enter the playoffs for the first time in Burrell's career and the first time for the Phillies since 1993. The Phillies were quickly swept by the Colorado Rockies in the first playoff round, in which Burrell had 2 hits in 11 AB with 2 walks, including a home run in game 1 of the series.
Overall, it was a very good season for Burrell. He achieved a career high in walks (114), OBP (.400), and AB per HR (15.7) In 2007, he walked 19.5% of the time, tops in the NL.[1] He also finished with a career low in strikeouts and for the first time in his career, he did not finish in the top 10 in strikeouts in the National League. Compared to the rest of the National League in 2007, Burrell was 10th in OBP, 3rd in walks, and 6th in AB/HR.
In 2007 he led all major league left fielders in errors, with 10, and had the lowest fielding percentage among them, .948, and the lowest range factor, 1.61.
"Met Killer"
From early in his major league career, Pat Burrell showed a penchant for hitting home runs against the New York Mets, much to the dismay of the Mets and their fans and announcers, but a boon to the Phillies as the Mets increasingly became division rivals. Though his overall batting average against the Mets was near his overall career average (which is actually sub-par for MLB), he continued to knock in runs against the Mets with the long ball. In 2007, Burrell surpassed Barry Bonds and Chipper Jones to lead all active players in home runs against the Mets, hitting 4 HR in a Phillies 4 game series sweep against the Mets in late August, collecting his 41st home run against them, also surpassing Willie Mays in 5th place for most home runs against the Mets all-time. Burrell's homeruns against the Mets gained notoriety also due to the intense dislike between Burrell and former Phillie teammate Billy Wagner, of whom Burrell has homered twice in four at bats, resulting in two blown saves for Wagner in the 2007 season, in which he blew only 4 overall.
Future role with Phillies
The future role of Burrell in the Phillies has been a hot topic in Philadelphia for a few years. Though the Phillies had shown interest in trading Burrell in 2006 and 2007, his contract (averaging over $13 million per year in 2007 and 2008), streaky play and full no-trade clause (which he was only willing to waive for a limited number of teams) resulted in him not being traded. Burrell's contract runs through the end of the 2008 season and for now he remains in Philadelphia, where while losing some fans during offensive slumps, he continues to gain new fans in addition to many who already respect him for his hustle, offensive production, and the way he has handled considerable rough treatment from the Philly fans and media. Pat Burrell's excellent second half of 2007 did a good bit to change his reputation among many Philadelphia critics.
See also
External links
- Pat Burrell's career statistics at Baseball Reference.com.
- Pat Burrell profile at Phillies.com.
- Pat Burrell profile and statistics at Yahoo Sports.
- 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) 2005 |
Succeeded by Ryan Howard |