Gary Burnham

From BR Bullpen

Gary Robert Burnham Jr.

Bats Left, Throws Left
Height 5' 11", Weight 219 lb.

School Clemson University
High School South Windsor High School

Born October 13, 1974 in Hartford, CT USA

Gary Burnham played AAA baseball in three different organizations before taking his bat to Asia. His brother Brett Burnham has also played minor league baseball.

1 Amateur Career
2 Phillies System
3 Jays System
4 2004-2005: Moving around
5 Phillies chain redux
6 Taiwan
7 Japan
8 Sources

[edit] Amateur Career

Burnham was picked in the 22nd round of the 1993 amateur draft out of high school by the Chicago Cubs. He opted for college instead and would play for four seasons for Clemson. In 1994, he hit .277 in 47 AB for the #4 team in NCAA Division I. In 1995, the sophomore outfielder batted .344 with a team-high 27 doubles for the #6 team in NCAA Division I; he had a better average than teammate Matt LeCroy. During the 1996 campaign, Gary hit .290 with a team-high 24 doubles and 62 runs, tied for the club lead, as Clemson finished 5th. The Oakland A's chose Burnham in the 40th round of the 1996 amateur draft; again, he did not sign. Returning for a senior season, the Hartford native batted .391, tied for 5th in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He had 23 doubles, 15 home runs, 83 runs and 82 RBI. He failed to make All-ACC despite his fine hitting. He was chosen by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 22nd round of the 1997 amateur draft and signed.

[edit] Phillies System

Burnham made his pro debut with the Batavia Clippers and batted .325/~.389/.481 with 22 doubles in 289 AB. He was second in the New York-Penn League in batting average and 5th in doubles. He made the league All-Star team at DH. Gary was promoted to the Clearwater Phillies for 1998 and hit .296/~.373/.446 with 33 doubles, 10 triples and 93 runs. He led Florida State League first basemen with a .994 fielding percentage. He led his team in runs and triples.

In 1999, the left-handed hitter took his cuts for the Reading Phillies, resulting in a .249/~.340/.407 in 116 games, splitting time between first base and the outfield. The next season, Burnham batted .268/.363/.456 with 28 doubles for Reading. During 2001, Gary had a third season with Reading and hit .318/.385/.518 with 25 doubles and 15 homers. He had the best average in the Phillies farm system. Burnham was third in the Eastern League in average behind Dustan Mohr and Marcus Thames and right ahead of teammate Marlon Byrd. He also led the EL with 9 sacrifice flies. Eric Munson beat him out for EL All-Star honors at first base.

[edit] Jays System

A free agent, Burnham signed with the Toronto Blue Jays in the off-season. They gave the 27-year-old his first look at AAA with the 2002 Syracuse SkyChiefs; he hit .281/.363/.443 with 34 doubles, 17 home runs and 88 RBI. He led Syracuse in RBI and tied Simon Pond for the most RBI in the Toronto farm chain. He also led Jays minor leaguers in total bases (238). He was third in the International League in RBI, behind Kevin Witt and David Doster and led league first basemen with 91 assists. He ground into 19 double plays, tying Johnny Estrada for the high (or low, depending on your meaning) mark in the circuit.

In 2003, Burnham remained in the wings in case anything happened to Carlos Delgado. He hit .269/.328/.424 for Syracuse with just 9 home runs in an off-year.

[edit] 2004-2005: Moving around

Burnham split 2004 between the St. Louis Cardinals' Memphis Redbirds affiliate (.292/.351/.449 in 35 games) and the Cincinnati Reds' Louisville Bats club (.261/.327/.396 in 69 games).

In 2005, the 30-year-old Clemson alumnus played for the independent Bridgeport Bluefish, hitting .320 and slugging .523 with 84 RBI. He led his team in runs (75), doubles (32), home runs (18) and RBI. He finished second in the circuit in average, .009 behind Carlos Hernandez. That earned him All-Star outfield honors.

[edit] Phillies chain redux

After starting 2006 well with Bridgeport, Burnham returned to the Phillies system. He hit .341/.412/.576 in 80 games for Reading, with 16 homers and 60 RBI and batted .391/.429/.565 with 9 runs and 8 RBI in 10 games for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons. He still did not get a look from the majors, though Philadelphia had a pretty impressive first baseman in MVP Ryan Howard (58 HR, 149 RBI). Burnham led Phillies farmhands in home runs (17) and set the Reading franchise record by hitting his 54th for them.

Burnam was primarily a DH for the 2007 Ottawa Lynx, hitting .292/.391/.436 with 35 doubles and 84 RBI though he only homered 12 times. He still led the team in doubles, homers and RBI and drew an IL-high 9 intentional walks. He tied Joey Votto for 4th in the IL in walks (70) and was only 6 doubles behind leader Brandon Moss.

[edit] Taiwan

For 2008, Burnham signed with the La New Bears of Taiwan. He batted .323/.397/.523, missing the top five in average in the 2008 CPBL but certainly putting together a solid season. Burnham set a new record for longest hitting streak by a foreigner in the Chinese Professional Baseball League, as his 23 games were one more than Luis de los Santos had achieved in 1996. His record lasted only one year before Wilton Veras surpassed him.

[edit] Japan

In December 2008, Burnham inked a deal with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan. He was also put on Italy's preliminary roster for the 2009 World Baseball Classic but did not make the final cut. He debuted in Japan on April 4, going 0 for 2 after replacing Benny Agbayani at DH.