Ellis Burks   |   Major Leaguer   1987-2004

[1990] - AL Silver Slugger Award (OF), AL Gold Glove Award (OF), AL MVP (Voting Rank: #13), Played in MLB All-Star Game  [1996] - NL Silver Slugger Award (OF), NL MVP (Voting Rank: #3), Played in MLB All-Star Game  [2000] - NL MVP (Voting Rank: #15)

An injury-prone aggressive power hitter, Ellis Burks was a constant in the middle of lineups throughout his career. When he retired after the 2004 season, Burks had played 18 seasons, accumulated 352 home runs and had over 2100 career hits. They may not be hall of fame numbers but Burks had definitely etched his name as one of the very good players in the history of the game.

It started in 1987 for Burks when he became only the 3rd player in Red Sox history to hit 20 homers and steal 20 bases in one season when he accomplished the feat in his rookie season in 1987. Despite the success, Burks didn't even garner a vote in the rookie-heavy 1987 season but he did get named to the Topps All-Rookie team as an outfielder.

He stayed in Boston for 6 seasons, going through several injuries while continuing to put up good numbers. His defense started off strong each injury reduced his range and throwing ability. In 1993, he signed a contract with the White Sox and he continued to produce, stroking 17 homers in a relatively full season. The White Sox didn't sign him that winter and so it was off to Colorado where balls were flying out of Mile High Stadium like nowhere else.

Burks' numbers in Colorado were very good as he and the thin air seemed to agree. He suffered through injuries once again during the strike-shortended 1994 season, his first season in Denver and 1995 was a lot of the same but 1996 made him worth the wait. He hit .344 with 40 home runs and 128 RBIs. By far, his best numbers ever and it was only the second season where he played in more than 150 games. He also scored 142 runs, had 211 hits and 45 doubles to round some incredible offensive numbers on an incredible offensive, pitching-thin Colorado team.

Unlike many players who leave Colorado, Burks numbers didn't drop very far after when he joined the Giants during the 1998 pennant race. He hit 31 homers in only 390 at bats in 1999 and he drove in 96 while hitting .282, proving to the baseball world that it wasn't just the mile high thin-air affecting his offensive prowess.

He continued to hit after signing with the Indians in 2001 and the injuries finally caught up with him in 2003 again, limiting him to only 55 games and after the Red Sox gave him one more chance in 2004, he battled through injuries all year and he announced his retirement at the age of 40 in the fall of 2004.

Looking at Ellis Burks' career stats, the numbers that stand out are mostly in 1995 but he had several other excellent seasons that were shortened by injury. One might be surprised to learn that Burks finished his career with an average of 28 homers and 97 runs batted in per 162 games played. He averaged 32 doubles, 101 runs scored and even 14 stolen bases. And always an aggressive hitter, he still managed to find a way to average 64 walks a year.

Burks joined the 30-30 club in 1996 with the Rockies after somehow managing 32 stolen bases on top of his monster statistics, despite the fact that he had only managed 36 steals combined over his previous 6 years in the majors. In fact, he would only steal 40 more the rest of his career.

He participated in the post season 6 times during his career and he never hurt his team, hitting .280 with 3 homers and 11 rbis in 93 at bats. His teams never made it past the first round and he played in the playoffs with 5 different teams.

In september of 2005, Burks was hired by the Indians as a special assistant to baseball operations. His job was to help instruct and develop players during spring training and to assist Indians general manager Mark Shapiro and his staff with personnel decisions.

Notes: Played in 2 all-star games during his career (1990, 1996)...He's a cousin of Roosevelt Brown...Named outfielder on The Sporting News NL All-Star Team (1990,1996)...Named outfielder on The Sporting News NL Silver Slugger Team (1990,1996)...Won AL Gold Glove as outfielder (1990)...Finished 3rd in NL MVP voting in 1996, 13th in AL MVP voting in 1990 and 15th in NL voting in 2000... Hit 3 homers in a game on June 19, 2001...5 hits in a game twice...Had 7 rbis in a game twice...Hit very well against Erik Hanson (12/22 .545 with 2 hr) and Eric Milton (9/24 with 5 hr)....Finished in 8th place at the 1996 Home Run Derby during the all-star break.

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