Ramp Champ #14: Rick Burleson

Rick Burleson am, is, was, are and be a shortstoppy/second base-type character who played for Pawtucket from 1972-1974. The Pawtucket Red Sox were double-A in '72, in case your mom never told you after her late-night stripper shift.

In 72, at age 21, Burleson batted .236 through 136 games. In '73, it was .252 through 146. Burleson was 13th in the International League that year for hits, with 120. He shared that accomplishment with three other people.

Burleson's crowning achievement in 1973 was leading the entire league in games played with 146. That would be every single game that Pawtucket played that year. Perhaps he celebrated with a beer or two.

Burleson played a mere 10 games for Pawtucket in 1974, going 14 for 41.

Two things:
1. "Red Sox shortstops are cursed. Not just the current lot, either. They haven’t had a shortstop start the majority of games at SS for six years in a row since Rick Burleson. He ended his string in 1980 when they traded him (and started Glenn Hoffman instead—looking at Hoffman’s lifetime stats, perhaps someone should have made him a pitcher too.) Theo Epstein has been proven (sort of) to be a rather crappy evaluator of shortstops. I had wondered why Orlando Cabrera, despite poor quality, wasn’t in this list until I remembered they traded for him in 2004 and he didn’t catch on." - posted by "morineko" on Brew Crew Ball (NOV 2009)
2. "My undernuts are itchin'!" - This has little to do with Rick Burleson, but when else can you use the word 'undernuts'?

Rick Burleson's mural is in the lobby of the first base tower. Learn it. Know it. Live it.