What’s wrong with Burrell?

Pat Burrell is an enigma. A player’s statistics tell the story of that player's career. Burrell’s story doesn’t track. He has all the athleticism and physical prowess to be a great ball player. In past seasons he has used those skills to put up big numbers. He has also wasted those skills throwing up some ugly stats.

Many experts have come forward with different explanations of why consistent success has eluded Burrell. Back in December former Phillies skipper Dallas Green suggested that Burrell spent too much time enjoying the rich life and that he needed to rededicate himself to baseball. Burrell has a reputation for taking pleasure in the Philadelphia nightlife. A recent Paul Hagen article suggested that the problem is that Burrell has vision problems and can’t see the ball. Burrell has led the Majors in called third strikes the past two seasons supporting the poor eyesight theory.

Both of these theories have flaws. If Burrell’s partying were affecting his performance than you would expect to see consistently bad numbers. Burrell’s yo-yo up and down, the very opposite of consistency. If Burrell had poor vision he wouldn’t score as high as he does on the Phillies mandatory vision tests. Burrell’s minor league and college stats tell us that he has the physical capacity to play MVP quality baseball. So, what’s wrong with Burrell?

In Moneyball, Michael Lewis tells the story of young player named Billy Beane. Beane had all of the “tools” that made Major League scouts salivate. Beane however never had the career as a player that was his preordained destiny. Lewis believes that Billy never had the mental makeup to be a big time player. Beane couldn't handle failure and became easily frustrated by the smallest disappointment. He couldn’t handle a game where the best players in the world, mess up seven out of ten times. There is a lot of Billy Beane in Pat Burrell.

After the departure of David Bell last season the cool Phillie to hate became Burrell. Every time he struck out, every time he couldn’t make a play in the field, boos would come down as judgment from the masses onto Burrell. Handling that kind of scrutiny is the furthest thing from easy. So, what’s wrong with Burrell? Nothing, he’s just human, a mere mortal like the rest of us.

Burrell hasn’t done a single interview this off-season. He should reverse that policy and take his critics head on. Sometimes a man needs to stand up and defend himself. Great players have a swagger and Burrell needs to get his back in the worst way.

Sources:
More suggestions for Burrell
By Paul Hagen / Philadelphia Inquirer

Green challenges Burrell
By Jim Salisbury / Philadelphia Inquirer

First picture of Pat Burrell from about.com, second picture of Pat Burrell from comcastsportsnet.com