Forgot About Dorn Cuz He's Only High Priced

Recently, Pat Burrell signed a contract with the Tampa Bay (not Devil) Rays. It ended his eight year career with the Philadelphia Phillies. A career that began in 2000, when he was called up to play first base. He was drafted first overall by the Phillies in 1998, after Major League Baseball gave the Phillies a mulligan following the J. D. Drew debacle. A college standout at the University of Miami (aka Tha U), a first overall pick and organizational embarrassment a year before made it clear Pat "the Bat" was not going to have the easiest of rides in Philly.

After his third and breakout season, Burrell signed a lucrative contract with the Phillies and followed up the contract with a down year. OOPS! That added to fuel to the always forgiving Philly fan base fire. A fan base that was cranky (even for Philadelphia) because:

-The most recent Phillies postseason memory was a ball sailing into the Toronto night off the bat of Joe Carter in 1993, and;











-Thereafter, the Phillies....sucked.


That sucking continued through the early part of this decade. Pat Burrell was booed by the fans, and hammered by columnists. He played second Philadelphia fiddle to a number of "next big things" in Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Cole Hamels. All of whom were revered upon arrival. Rightfully so. He endured the wrath of former Phillies coach Dallas Green who said Burrell needed to decide if was more interested in "chasing broads" or playing baseball.

Of course he was teamates with Billy Wagner, who did not leave Philadelphia on the best of terms. Wagner had bad things to say about the Phillies generally and Pat Burrell specifically on his way out the door. Apparently, Wagner had some trouble with Burrell's nickname, referring to Burrell as a "rat." Wagner continued to lob insults at Burrell from New York after he left Philadelphia. I imagine this was directed at Billy Wagner:









Through all of this, Burrell played most evey game, battling wrist and knee injuries. He hit over 20 home runs in all but his rookie season. He drove in over 85 runs in all but two seasons. That includes the seasons he hit behind both Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, huge run producers in their own right. Burrell never complained. He never blamed the media, fans, Billy Wagner or anyone else when things were bad. He showed up, heard the boos, battled the pain and swung the bat. His defense left a lot to be desired. But he played hard. He had huge hits in the 2008 World Series Championship run. Multiple home runs in the clincher against Milwaukee. The game winning home run in Game 1 against the Dodgers. And it was he who doubled in the World Series clincher. Eric Bruntlett came in to pinch run, and scored what was the World Series clinching run.

Turns he was more concerned with playing baseball. It would have been easy for him to sit in a corner and complain, demand a trade, holdout or employ one of the many other current methods to be a general pain in an organization's rear. But he quietly went about his business through pain, boos and whatever else the Phillie Phaithful wanted to throw at him. (Literally!) He was, very quietly, a credit to his team and to the game of baseball. He left with nothing but positive to say about the organization and city. He left with class and dignity, and most importantly, a champion.














Congratulations and Best of luck in Tampa, Pat.