Pat Burrell's Legacy

Pat Burrell's power numbers with the Phillies were impressive. A 30 hr, 100 ribi guy who also drew a ton of walks. But watching Burrell play in Philadelphia could also be maddening. The slowfootedness in the field and on the base paths. Taking good pitches and swinging at bad ones. The strikeouts. A lot of strikeouts. And yet he typified, as much as anyone, the 07-08 Phillies - tough and professional, the consummate team player.

A few years back, when Burrell was struggling mightily, it would have been very easy for him to pack it in and circle the wagons. He wasn't producing and his big contract put a giant bull's-eye on his back for the boo birds. He was a lightning rod for everything that was wrong with the team. But Burrell seemed to draw motivation from it. He didn't feel sorry for himself nor offer excuses. He just kept working at his hitting, like a golfer practicing his swing in the most unlikely places. And even his fielding, while not elegant, was serviceable, surely a product of pride and determination, not athleticism. He willed his game back to respectability.

In the 2007-2008 campaigns, Pat was a critical part of the Phils' attack. When the team's offense sputtered, which it often did, he carried them for long stretches. Even when Pat slumped, which he often did, he could still conjure up with some timely hits. Many times in the late innings when it looked like another fine effort by a starter was about to be wasted, Burrell would go deep, or at least work his way on to get something started. This frequently occurred after he was coming off some very ugly at-bats and there was little reason for optimism.

Perhaps most important was his attitude. He was the first off the bench cheering his teammates and never showed displeasure when Eric Bruntlett replaced him in the late innings. A team guy. A Philadelphia guy. Burrell's departure has been in the cards for a long time, and Raul Ibanez seems to be a class act. But Pat Burrell will be missed in this town.