Ellis Burks

Position: Outfielder
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right
6-2, 175lb (188cm, 79kg)
Born: September 11, 1964 in Vicksburg, MS
Draft: Drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 1st round (20th) of the 1983 MLB January Draft-Regular Phase from Ranger College (Ranger, TX).
High School: Everman HS (Everman, TX)
Schools: Paris Junior College (Paris, TX), Ranger College (Ranger, TX)
Debut: April 30, 1987 (15,321st in major league history)
vs. SEA 3 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: October 2, 2004
vs. BAL 2 AB, 1 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Rookie Status: Exceeded rookie limits during 1987 season
Agents: Jim Turner
Full Name: Ellis Rena Burks
Relatives: Cousin of Roosevelt Brown

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1987

B.J. Surhoff
Edgar Martinez
Ellis Burks
Matt Williams
Ken Caminiti
Tom Glavine
Jose Mesa
Lance Johnson
Ron Gant 

All-Time Teammate Team

Coming Soon

Notable Events and Chronology

Sort bySearch Days, Events, Players Title (A - Z)Date (Newest)

January 11, 1983

Ellis Burks is drafted and signed in the January free agent draft

August 28, 1990

Ellis Burks becomes only the second Red Sox player to hit two home runs in the same inning

October 10, 1990

The Oakland Athletics sweep the Boston Red Sox for the American League pennant

September 13, 1996

Dante Bichette joins his teammate Ellis Burks as a member of the 30/30 club when he homers in the sixth inning of Colorado’s 6-3 victory over Houston at Coors Field. The Rockies join the 1987 New York Mets as the only teams in history to have two 30-30 players (Howard Johnson and Darryl Strawberry) during the same season.

September 28, 1996

The Rockies’ Ellis Burks becomes the fourth player to hit 40 home runs and swipe 30 bases in a single season when he goes deep off Dan Carlson with an eighth-inning solo shot in the team’s 8-5 loss to the Giants at Coors Field. The 32 year-old Colorado outfielder joins Hank Aaron (1963 Braves), Jose Canseco (1988 A’s), and Barry Bonds (1996 Giants) in accomplishing the feat.

September 29, 1996

Hitting his 40th homer, Rockies third baseman Vinny Castilla joins Andres Galarraga (47) and Ellis Burks (40) to become the first trio of teammates in 23 years to hit 40 homers for one team. Davey Johnson (43), Darrell Evans (41), and Hank Aaron (40) accomplished the feat for the Braves in 1973.

September 29, 1996

Rockies become only the second team in history to boast three players with at least 40 home runs

August 8, 1998

8/8/1998 – In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Giants’ Shawon Dunston pinch hit for Ellis Burks in the second spot in the order and ended the inning with a strikeout. In the top of the sixth inning, manager Dusty Baker made five substitutions in his lineup, including leaving Dunston in the game. New players went into the third through fifth spots in the order. Stan Javier started the bottom of the sixth properly and was out. Then Joe Carter and Rich Aurilia got confused and Aurilia batted out of turn. He walked, Carter flew out and then Bill Mueller, who had been in the game, walked. By now it was too late for the Braves (ahead 10-2) to say anything, if they actually knew there was a problem. With all the changes, they might not have realized Aurilia batted out of turn. The Giants scored three runs in the inning but lost the game 14-6. Carter and Aurilia hit in the proper order the next time around the lineup in the seventh inning.

October 29, 2002

Bringing the total to seven this month, three more teams hire new managers, including Ned Yost (Brewers), Ken Macha (A’s), and Eric Wedge (Indians). Being younger than two of his players (Ellis Burks and Omar Vizquel), the Tribe’s skipper, at the age of 34, becomes the youngest manager in the major leagues.

September 16, 2006

Stealing second base in the first inning in an 8-5 victory over the Brewers at RFK, Alfonso Soriano becomes the fourth player in major league history in a single season to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases. The Nationals’ outfielder joins Jose Canseco (1988), Barry Bonds (1996), and Alex Rodriguez (1998) as the only players to record 40-40 seasons.

Biography

“Have bat, will travel” could have been Burks’ motto. Tabbed a future MVP by Twins manager Tom Kelly, the speedy Burks earned the Red Sox’ starting centerfield job at the age of 22, and as a rookie in 1987 became only the third player in club history to hit 20 homers and steal 20 bases in one season. He earned spots on both the Baseball Digest and Topps all-rookie teams, and in 1988 hit .294 with 92 RBI and 25 stolen bases. Defensively, Burks was one of the best centerfielders in the majors, with great range and a sure glove offsetting a somewhat erratic arm. His rise to stardom was interrupted by shoulder surgery in 1989.

It was the first of many setbacks for Burks, who later suffered through bad knees, bad quads, and a bad back. None of his injuries were career-threatening, just nagging battle wounds that took him out of the lineup for short stretches. His oft-injured status maddened teammates, fans and managers alike, but to Burks it was just a by-product of playing good, hard baseball. “They’re all baseball injuries, it’s not like I got hurt falling out of the damn bed,” he told newspaper reporters in 1999.

It was hard to argue with him, because a healthy Burks was worth having. In 1996 he got over 600 at-bats and, helped by the thin air of Coors Field, scored 142 runs, knock in another 128, and bat .344. With the Giants four years later, he again hit .344, batting fifth behind Barry Bonds and NL MVP Jeff Kent. That performance earned him a three-year, $20 million contract from the Indians after the season.

@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@

Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts

When he was healthy, Ellis Burks put up good numbers, but unfortunately he battled injuries much of his career. Originally drafted as the 20th selection in the 1983 draft by Boston, Burks was a smash as a rookie, hitting 20 homers and 27 stolen bases. The right-handed center fielder spent his first six seasons with the Red Sox, before signing as a free agent with the White Sox and later the Rockies. In the thin air of Colorado, Burks thrived, batting .344 with 40 homers and 128 RBI in his first healthy season for the Rockies. He later hit as many as 30 homers for both the Giants and the Indians. When he finally retired following the 2004 season, Burks had 352 homers and more than 2,100 hits to his credit.

Teams Ellis Burks Played For

Boston Red Sox (1987-1992)
Chicago White Sox (1993)
Colorado Rockies (1994-1998)
San Francisco Giants (1998-2000)
Cleveland Indians (2001-2003)
Boston Red Sox (2004)

Post-Season Appearances
1988 American League Championship Series
1990 American League Championship Series
1993 American League Championship Series
1995 National League Divisional Series
2000 National League Divisional Series
2001 American League Divisional Series

Awards and Honors
1990 AL Gold Glove

All-Star Selections
1990 AL
1996 NL

View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen

View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

If you would like to add a link or add information for player pages, please contact us here.