Ellis Rena Burks (born September 11, 1964) is an American former

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

. Burks played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for 18 seasons from 1987 to 2004 with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

, and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. Burks was a two-time MLB All-Star, two-time

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best Batting (baseball), offensive player at each Baseball positions, position in both the American League (AL) and the National League (baseball), National League (NL), as determ ...

winner, a Gold Glove Award winner, and a member of the

30–30 club In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 30–30 club is the group of 47 Batter (baseball), batters who have collected 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a single season. ''Baseball Digest'' called the 30–30 club "the most celebrated feat that can ...

. He is a member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.

Early life

Burks was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, but raised in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, and attended Everman High School. Burks was initially overlooked by scouts and only received a scholarship offer from Ranger Junior College after a showcase at Arlington Stadium. His school lost a junior college championship to the Jay Buhner-led McLennan Community College.

Career

Selected by the

in the first round (20th pick) of the 1983 Major League Baseball draft, Burks made his debut in the 1987 season as a regular

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

at age 22, becoming the third player in Red Sox history to hit 20

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and steal 20 bases in one season. He was selected to both the '' Baseball Digest'' and

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of Baseball card, baseball and other sports and Non-sports tradi ...

"All-Rookie" teams. Defensively, Burks showed excellent range, a sure glove and a strong arm. Burks, however, was injury-prone. He had shoulder surgery in 1989, and it was the first of many setbacks for him. During the season he hit two home runs in the same inning of a game, to become the second player in Red Sox history to achieve the feat; Bill Regan was the first, in . Later, Burks suffered from bad knees and back spasms. After six seasons in Boston, and despite his injuries, he ended up leaving as a free agent and signing with the

in January 1993. He surpassed expectations around him by turning in a solid, injury-free season, filling the White Sox' urgent need for a quality

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

. He was one of the club's better performers in the playoffs, batting .304. A free agent at the end of the season, he signed a five-year contract with the

(1994–98). On April 17, 1994, Burks hit a game-winning home run in the bottom of the 10th inning against the Montreal Expos. It was the only major league walk-off home run ever hit at Mile High Stadium. His 1,000th career hit also came against the Expos, a triple in July 1995. In , Burks enjoyed his best season. He led National League hitters in runs (142),

slugging average In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, a ...

(.639),

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hit (baseball), hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single (baseball), single, 2 for a double (baseball), double, 3 for a triple (baseball), triple and 4 ...

(392) and extra-base hits (93); was second in hits (211) and doubles (45), and fifth in home runs (40) and RBI (128). His .344 average was also second in the race for the batting title (behind Tony Gwynn, .353). Burks finished third in the MVP voting. He also stole 32 bases that season, marking only the second time that two players from the same team collected at least 30 home runs and 30 steals, as Colorado outfielder Dante Bichette accomplished the feat. Burks remains in the top ten in many offensive categories for the Rockies. While with the Rockies, Burks was part of the Blake Street Bombers that included Andrés Galarraga, Bichette,

Larry Walker Larry Kenneth Robert Walker (born December 1, 1966) is a Canadian former professional baseball right fielder. During his 17-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played with the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals. I ...

and Vinny Castilla. This was the heart of the Rockies' lineup that was second in the National League in home runs by team in 1994, then led the National League in home runs from 1995 to 1997. Burks was traded to the

in mid-season 1998 for Darryl Hamilton and Jim Stoops. In 2000, batting fifth behind Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent, he compiled numbers of .344, 24, 96, in only 122 games and 393

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

s. He won the 2000 Willie Mac Award for his spirit and leadership. Burks was signed by the

after the season. In his new role as a DH for the Indians, Burks provided consistent production in the middle-of-the-lineup, hitting .280, 28, 74 in 2001, and .301, 32, 91 in 2002. He sprained his wrist in

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

of 2003 and kept playing in 55 games until the muscles in his right hand affected his ability to swing the bat. Burks underwent season-ending surgery to repair nerve damage in his right elbow. The Indians did not pick up their 2004 contract option or offer him salary arbitration, and he returned to the Red Sox in 2004, playing eleven games without making the postseason roster. He retired at the end of the season with a World Series ring with the team that he began his career with. In an 18-year career, Burks was a .291 hitter with 352 home runs, 1,206 runs batted in (RBI), 1,253 runs, 2,107 hits, 402 doubles, 63 triples, 181 stolen bases and 793 walks in 2,000 games. Defensively, Burks recorded a .983

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

playing at all three outfield positions.

Post-playing career

After the season, Burks joined the Indians' front office staff as a special assistant to the

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

. In 2021, Burks joined NESN as a studio analyst and alternate color commentator for Red Sox games.

Personal life

Burks resides in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and his son, Chris, played baseball in the San Francisco Giants organization. He also has three daughters, Carissa, Elisha, and Breanna. He met his wife, Dori, in Connecticut in 1985. He is a cousin of fellow Major League outfielder Roosevelt Brown.

References

External links