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Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Shelton: Burrell’s value to Tampa Bay Rays goes beyond numbers

This guy is something. Tough company. Lord, if you will. Awe builds. Somberness.

If you are a numbers guy, this might be all you need to know about Pat Burrell.

He’s going to hit 30 home runs for the Rays this season. That alone is a pretty good reason to say hello.

If history is any indicator, Burrell is going to hit somewhere in the .250s, and he’s going to drive in about 90 runs. He’ll walk more than 100 times, and he’ll strike out about 130 times.

Lovely things, statistics. And, yes, part of the beauty of baseball is the way the game turns all of us into accountants.

...Again, however, that’s just numbers talk. You know how you judge a player? In part, by how his teammates feel about him. And the Phillies loved Burrell.

He was Pat the Bat, after all. Once, his teammates made up a shirt with a photo of Burrell lifting weights on the front with the slogan: Pat Burrell: Man or Machine.

Repoz Posted: January 06, 2009 at 12:21 AM | 9 comment(s)
Related News: General, Tampa Bay

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1. Jim Wisinski endorses Ben Zobrist's MVP candidacy Posted: January 06, 2009 at 12:57 AM (#3044199)

That was actually a pretty good fluff piece until the stupid comment about Teixeira at the end.

2. Big Ed Posted: January 06, 2009 at 10:10 AM (#3044308)

Burrell matured greatly in the last three or four years. He overcame some of his batting issues, and became less self oriented. You could always see him in the right front corner of the dugout rooting on his teammates. He morphed one of the best teammates the Phillies had. There was a time when some Phillies fans were down on him. Now he'll be missed by almost everyone.

3. Rocco's Not-so Malfunctioning Mitochondria Posted: January 06, 2009 at 10:17 AM (#3044315)

He was Pat the Bat, after all. Once, his teammates made up a shirt with a photo of Burrell lifting weights on the front with the slogan: Pat Burrell: Man or Machine.

Hmm, I always thought the slogan on that picture was "Buttsecks?"

4. Bad Doctor Posted: January 06, 2009 at 10:31 AM (#3044326)

Sam Donnellon, the Philadelphia Daily News columnist, once wrote this: "There has never been a player like Pat Burrell in this town. No one has been loved, loathed and loved again the way he has, at least while wearing a hometown uniform the entire time."

That's probably a true statement. Ask 100 Phillies fans about Pat, and you'll get 100 different takes, with differing opinions on his attitude, maturity, offensive value, defense ... everything. (Well, they'd probably all agree that he runs like he has a piano on his back.) Now, the same could be said about guys like Iverson and Lindros and McNabb, but I think the difference is that if you went back to those same 100 fans at a different time, there would be a lot of inconsistency in how each one answered the Pat question, whereas fans tended to see themselves as Iverson/Lindros/McNabb guys or not, and base their opinions accordingly.

I wasn't around for Dick Allen, but he might have been similar to Pat in this regard, or at least he would have been if he played in a more progressive era.

5. Eric J Posted: January 06, 2009 at 10:33 AM (#3044328)

This guy is something. Tough company. Lord, if you will. Awe builds. Somberness.

This has some handle potential.

6. RB in NYC (Now with a Training Schedule!) Posted: January 06, 2009 at 10:38 AM (#3044332)

I love that the photo they choose for this article is Burrell walking his dog onto the field during the WS celebration. Really? You guys couldn't have found one of him mid-swing, or standing in the field or doing something in uniform?

7. Dan The Mediocre Posted: January 06, 2009 at 10:42 AM (#3044336)

So it goes into letters?

His value is so great it requires hexadecimal just to express!

8. Mirabelli Dictu (Chris McClinch) Posted: January 06, 2009 at 11:51 AM (#3044395)

9. Padraic Posted: January 06, 2009 at 03:11 PM (#3044650)

Don't think Schmidt was loved first. Pretty much loathed from arrival until 1980, then loved ever since.

If McNabb wins the Super Bowl this year, however, I think his story will surpass Burrell, since he was loathed, loved, and loathed again before the revival of the past few weeks.

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Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Shelton: Burrell’s value to Tampa Bay Rays goes beyond numbers

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