Rick Burleson
| Rick Burleson | |||
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| Shortstop | |||
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Born: April 29, 1951 Lynwood, California |
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| MLB debut | |||
| May 4, 1974, for the Boston Red Sox | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| July 8, 1987, for the Baltimore Orioles | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .273 | ||
| Hits | 1,401 | ||
| Runs batted in | 449 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Richard Paul "Rooster" Burleson (born April 29, 1951) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. "Rooster," as he was nicknamed was a famously intense ballplayer. Former Boston Red Sox teammate Bill Lee once said of Burleson, "Some guys didn't like to lose, but Rick got angry if the score was even tied."
Burleson was originally drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft upon graduation from Warren High School, but did not sign. After a year at Cerritos Junior College, the Boston Red Sox selected Burleson #5 overall during the January secondary phase of the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft.
Burleson spent his first professional season with the Winter Haven Red Sox of the Florida State League. He batted only .220, and committed 38 errors at short. In 1972, Burleson was named an Eastern League All-Star while assigned to the Pawtucket Red Sox. Following Luis Aparicio's retirement, he battled Mario Guerrero for the starting shortstop job in Spring training 1974.
Though Guerrero won the job, Burleson still managed to earn a call to the major leagues by May. On May 4, Burleson tied a major league record by committing three errors in his major league debut, and was replaced by Guerrero at short by the end of the game. Despite the inauspicious start to his career, he would eventually end up being considered among the best defensive shortstops of his generation, earning a Gold Glove Award in 1979.
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