Adrian Burnside

Adrian Mark Burnside

• Bats Right, Throws Left
• Height 6' 3" Weight 210 lb.
• High School Catholic High School (Alice Springs)
• Born March 15, 1977 in Alice Springs, Northern Territory Australia

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Adrian Burnside was signed as an 18-year-old undrafted free agent by Los Angeles Dodgers scout Brian Cakebread in 1995. He began his professional career in 1996 and went 1-3 with a 6.80 ERA for the GCL Dodgers, almost reaching a walk per inning. He improved the next year to 6-3, 4.93 for the Yakima Bears, with 49 walks and 66 strikeouts in 65 2/3 IP. Adrian imploded in 1998, losing 10 of 11 decisions for the San Bernardino Stampede and having a 7.81 ERA, allowing over a run per inning. With Yakima, Burnside went 1-4 with a 4.05 ERA. Adrian righted himself in '99, going 10-9 with a 4.17 ERA in his second year with San Bernardino. By this point, he walked 55 in 131 2/3 IP as his control continued to improve.

In 2000, the Aussie southpaw was 6-5 with a 2.90 ERA for the San Antonio Missions, but presumably missed time due to injuries as he only pitched in 17 games. Had he qualified, his ERA would have ranked third in the Texas League. He started the '01 season 4-3 with a 2.66 ERA and .181 opponent batting average for the Jacksonville Suns. He was then traded with Mike Fetters to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Terry Mulholland and went 0-2 with a 3.62 ERA after joining the Altoona Curve.

After a rough time in the Arizona Fall League, Burnside spent the '02 campaign with the Curve, going 6-9 with a 4.55 ERA and hit 15 batters, the most in the Eastern League. It was rumored that he would be called up in September but he was not. On November 25, he was dealt to the Detroit Tigers with a player to be named later for Randall Simon.

In 2003, Adrian was only 2-4 with two saves and a 6.28 ERA for the Erie Sea Wolves, declining in AA for the third straight year. He continued his struggles in AAA in '04, having a 6.13 ERA and 4-7 record for the Toledo Mud Hens. He missed time to represent Australia in the 2004 Olympics, in which he got a silver medal.

Burnside was picked up that winter by the Toronto Blue Jays as a salvage project. Converted to the bullpen, he had a fine year for the Syracuse SkyChiefs, going 4-4 with a 2.98 ERA in 50 relief appearances and holding left-handers to a .185 average. In the 2005 Baseball World Cup, he went 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA and struck out six in 3 2/3 IP.

He pitched for Australia in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, allowing no runs but two walks and a hit in 1 1/3 IP in his only outing. He was 3-0 with a 3.48 ERA in 33 games in his second go-around with Syracuse.

Burnside did not pitch a game in 2007 until May 25, when he worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings for the San Antonio Missions. He had a 2.19 ERA in nine games for San Antonio. In 26 contests for the Portland Beavers, he had a 5.40 ERA.

Burnside signed a one-year, $300,000 deal with the Yomiuri Giants for 2008. He started the season in ni-gun but was called up in May. He spent the rest of the year in the rotation, going 5-3 with a 3.48 ERA. He did not appear in the 2008 Japan Series, which Yomiuri lost. Adrian did not pitch for Yomiuri's top club in 2009.

Burnside then signed with the Nexen Heroes for 2010. He debuted in the Korea Baseball Organization on March 30 but had a poor start, giving up five runs in 4 1/3 IP to the Doosan Bears. For the year, he had a 10-10, 5.34 record. He tied for 6th in losses, was 3rd in walks (82), tied for 10th in wins, was third in starts (29) and was second with 91 runs allowed (one shy of leader Aquilino Lopez).

He was 1-0 with a 3.72 ERA for the Adelaide Bite in the 2010-2011 Australian Baseball League. Signing with Taiwan's Lamigo Monkeys, he continued his tour of Asian baseball leagues. In his CPBL debut, he tossed seven shutout innings to outduel Orlando Roman of the Brother Elephants on March 25, 2011.

As of last check, Burnside resided in Bradenton, FL.

Primary Sources: 1997-2006 Baseball Almanacs, WBC site, Minorleaguebaseball.com, 2005 Baseball World Cup site, Defunct IBAF site, Adelaide Bite stats, Chinese Wiki Baseball, KBO stats