The ex-Red Sox lefty, who surrendered the decisive hit of the 1975 World Series on a Joe Morgan RBI bloop single in the 9th, crushing my 11-year-old soul in the process, has passed at age 64 in Charlotte, NC.
While baseball-reference.com just added him to their In Memoriam main page section, Burton died December 12. In addition to his mother and two brothers, Jim leaves his wife, three daughters and two granddaughters.
With his passing, three of the 37 players from that pennant-winning club are now deceased, as he joins Tony Conigliaro and Deron Johnson. (Manager Darrell Johnson and coaches Eddie Popowski and Johnny Pesky have also passed.)
After starring for the University of Michigan, the Sox made him their top pick (#5 overall) in the secondary phase of the June 1971 amateur draft. He never pitched below AA level in the minors, debuting for the PawSox shortly after signing. A stellar 8-2 start with a 1.53 ERA for Pawtucket in 1975 (by then a AAA affiliate) was punctuated by a no-hitter against Tidewater, and led to his mid-season call-up by Boston.
Following his June 10 debut at Fenway (a scoreless low-pressure 9th in an 8-3 loss to Texas), Burton made his first start in Chicago on June 12, squaring off against Jim Kaat. He surrendered his first hit, a leadoff solo HR in the 2nd, to the aforementioned Deron Johnson (who'd join the Red Sox for the September stretch run). Burton would pitch into the 6th and would be charged with 6 runs, 4 earned, in a 9-2 loss. Two of those were allowed to score by reliever Reggie Cleveland, the man he'd replaced in the Boston starting rotation.
His next outing came June 16 in Detroit, a series more famous for Fred Lynn's 3-HR, 10-RBI game two nights later. Opposing another All-Star ace in Mickey Lolich, Burton pitched brilliantly, allowing a lone run through 9 innings. After Boston took a 2-1 lead in the top of the 10th, Jim allowed the tying run to score in the bottom half (single-bunt-single) and was pulled. He wasn't around for the Sox' 6-2 win in the 12th.
Burton's first Fenway start June 23 against the Indians found him working on a week's rest, and the rust showed. He retired just 2 batters, allowing 2 walks, 3 doubles and a wild pitch. All 4 runs were unearned courtesy of a Burleson error on a steal attempt, but Jim was bound for the bullpen.
His next 4 relief stints were all brief and scoreless. On July 5 in Cleveland he was pressed into long relief after fellow Sox rookie Steve Barr got hammered for 6 runs in the 1st. Burton would finish the game but would also yield 6 runs in a 12-2 loss, with 8 of the Indians' runs unearned (3 of his, 5 of Barr's) on 3 Boston errors.
For the next three months through the end of the regular season, Burton was a steady and reliable presence in the Sox pen: 20 G, 28.1 IP, 2.54 ERA, 26 K and 10 BB, and just 1 HR. That line included a spot start in Milwaukee (3.2 IP, 2 ER). His final ERA as a reliever was 2.38 in 25 appearances.
Burton didn't pitch in Boston's three-game ALCS sweep of the 3-time defending World Champion A's, but he'd get the call in the Fall Classic. After not pitching since September 20, he was finally summoned for Game 3 of the World Series in Cincinnati on October 14. With the game tied 3-3, starter Rick Wise ran into trouble in the top of the 5th with back-to-back solo HRs by Dave Concepcion and Cesar Geronimo to lead off the inning. Wise struck out pitcher Pat Darcy, but yielded a triple to Pete Rose. On came Burton, who promptly walked Ken Griffey on 5 pitches. Next came Joe Morgan, who lofted a sac fly to CF to score Rose. While throwing a first-pitch ball to Tony Perez, Griffey stole second.
That was it for Burton as Reggie Cleveland came on to finish the at-bat and retire Perez to end the threat. If you're scoring at home, Burton's World Series debut involved facing two future Hall of Famers and the father of another future HOFer -- as a rookie on 23 days' rest.
Which brings us to Game 7. Tied 3-3 with 2 out in the last of the 8th, Darrell Johnson sent up Cecil Cooper to pinch-hit for pitcher Jim Willoughby. Cooper would foul out to end the inning, and the Sox' best reliever was out of the game.
Burton came on to start the top of the 9th, and would later tell Donald Hornig in The Boys of October:
As in Game 3, Burton was greeted by Griffey. And as he had in Game 3, Burton walked him. The payoff pitch was well high, and Pudge had to stretch his left arm and mitt like a shot-blocker to ensure it didn't sail over his head.
After three throws to first to keep Griffey at bay, Geronimo bunted him over to second. Only a great play by Rico Petrocelli, throwing with his ass planted on the ground, prevented it from being a base hit. That brought up Clay Carroll in the pitcher's spot. Sparky Anderson had already used his best right-handed pinch hitters, Merv Rettenmund and Ed Armbrister. Doug Flynn, a right-handed hitting infielder without much punch, had come out on deck during Geronimo's at-bat. But Sparky would call him back and go with slugger Dan Driessen, the third straight lefty to face the southpaw Burton.
Burton's initial offering to Driessen was up and in, and he turned on it. Not solidly, but solidly enough. More importantly, he pulled it to the right side for a grounder to second that advanced Griffey to third.
Following a mound conference with Fisk and manager Johnson, Pete Rose stood in the right-hand batter's box. Burton fell behind 2-0 on an inside fastball and low swooping curve before dropping another curve in for a strike. A third straight curve missed low again, but Burton came back with a perfect fastball on the outside corner to bring the count full. The payoff pitch wasn't even close, again way up high and outside but hauled in by Fisk as Rose trotted to first.
Up came Joe Morgan. An opening fastball was low and well outside, but the hitter fouled back a nice curve. The 1-1 pitch made my heart sink, as Morgan took an outside fastball the opposite way and hit it hard. However it wound up in the first couple rows of seats alongside Fenway's left field, barely foul, and Burton found himself ahead in the count. I could have sworn Morgan missed the next pitch, a belt-high curve inside, but he topped it foul down the first base side toward the rolled-up tarp.
Then it happened. Burton threw a slider that was perfectly placed, sweeping from the left and over the right edge of the plate. Morgan swung, arms fully extended, and got feeble wood on it. The ball lofted weakly and meekly over second base, falling into shallow center. Freddy Lynn, playing fairly deep out of respect for Morgan's power, never had a chance. Griffey trotted home for the 4-3 lead. Cleveland relieved Burton, and that's how it would end. Jim would turn 26 six days later.
Burton's postgame comments to the Globe:
Reflecting on it to Hornig a dozen years ago:
Whatever plans Burton might have had to purge that pitch from his memory banks didn't work. He struggled in Grapefruit League play the following spring (17 hits in 3 games), and was assigned to Pawtucket where he would spend the entire season while compiling a 5.59 ERA in 28 starts with more walks (112) than strikeouts (106).
Burton would make it back to Boston and the majors in 1977, throwing 2.2 scoreless relief innings against the Orioles on September, mopping up in an 11-2 loss. It would be his final major league appearance. Just days before the Sox broke camp in spring 1978, they dealt him to the Mets for infielder Leo Foster. Burton split his final pro season between AAA Tidewater and class-A Lynchburg, and then it was over.
He was never vilified like Bill Buckner, nor did he completely melt down and wilt on the national stage like Calvin Schiraldi. But many Sox fans nonetheless split the blame for the '75 Series loss on Johnson (for bringing a rookie pitcher into such a high-pressure situation), and Burton (for giving up the run that ended it).
Johnson took the most heat, but that's a foolish stance considering the options. Willoughby and lefty Roger Moret had already pitched in Game 7. Dick Drago had thrown 35 pitches over 3 innings the night before. Dick Pole, Diego Segui and Reggie Cleveland were all righthanders, and the Reds likely would have had five lefties facing them (Griffey, Geronimo, Driessen, Rose, Morgan). If you want to fault Johnson for anything, blame him for not giving the youngster more work from September 20 to October 22.
As for blaming Burton, screw that. He had earned the right to be relied upon with an impressive three months in the bullpen. That night he faced one of the most potent lineups ever assembled, and made a great pitch when it counted. Unfortunately a Hall of Fame hitter got the best of him.
A great bio on Burton, written by Les Masterson in 2005, can be found at SABR. It concludes as follows:
Godspeed, Jim.
While baseball-reference.com just added him to their In Memoriam main page section, Burton died December 12. In addition to his mother and two brothers, Jim leaves his wife, three daughters and two granddaughters.
With his passing, three of the 37 players from that pennant-winning club are now deceased, as he joins Tony Conigliaro and Deron Johnson. (Manager Darrell Johnson and coaches Eddie Popowski and Johnny Pesky have also passed.)
After starring for the University of Michigan, the Sox made him their top pick (#5 overall) in the secondary phase of the June 1971 amateur draft. He never pitched below AA level in the minors, debuting for the PawSox shortly after signing. A stellar 8-2 start with a 1.53 ERA for Pawtucket in 1975 (by then a AAA affiliate) was punctuated by a no-hitter against Tidewater, and led to his mid-season call-up by Boston.
Following his June 10 debut at Fenway (a scoreless low-pressure 9th in an 8-3 loss to Texas), Burton made his first start in Chicago on June 12, squaring off against Jim Kaat. He surrendered his first hit, a leadoff solo HR in the 2nd, to the aforementioned Deron Johnson (who'd join the Red Sox for the September stretch run). Burton would pitch into the 6th and would be charged with 6 runs, 4 earned, in a 9-2 loss. Two of those were allowed to score by reliever Reggie Cleveland, the man he'd replaced in the Boston starting rotation.
His next outing came June 16 in Detroit, a series more famous for Fred Lynn's 3-HR, 10-RBI game two nights later. Opposing another All-Star ace in Mickey Lolich, Burton pitched brilliantly, allowing a lone run through 9 innings. After Boston took a 2-1 lead in the top of the 10th, Jim allowed the tying run to score in the bottom half (single-bunt-single) and was pulled. He wasn't around for the Sox' 6-2 win in the 12th.
Burton's first Fenway start June 23 against the Indians found him working on a week's rest, and the rust showed. He retired just 2 batters, allowing 2 walks, 3 doubles and a wild pitch. All 4 runs were unearned courtesy of a Burleson error on a steal attempt, but Jim was bound for the bullpen.
His next 4 relief stints were all brief and scoreless. On July 5 in Cleveland he was pressed into long relief after fellow Sox rookie Steve Barr got hammered for 6 runs in the 1st. Burton would finish the game but would also yield 6 runs in a 12-2 loss, with 8 of the Indians' runs unearned (3 of his, 5 of Barr's) on 3 Boston errors.
For the next three months through the end of the regular season, Burton was a steady and reliable presence in the Sox pen: 20 G, 28.1 IP, 2.54 ERA, 26 K and 10 BB, and just 1 HR. That line included a spot start in Milwaukee (3.2 IP, 2 ER). His final ERA as a reliever was 2.38 in 25 appearances.
Burton didn't pitch in Boston's three-game ALCS sweep of the 3-time defending World Champion A's, but he'd get the call in the Fall Classic. After not pitching since September 20, he was finally summoned for Game 3 of the World Series in Cincinnati on October 14. With the game tied 3-3, starter Rick Wise ran into trouble in the top of the 5th with back-to-back solo HRs by Dave Concepcion and Cesar Geronimo to lead off the inning. Wise struck out pitcher Pat Darcy, but yielded a triple to Pete Rose. On came Burton, who promptly walked Ken Griffey on 5 pitches. Next came Joe Morgan, who lofted a sac fly to CF to score Rose. While throwing a first-pitch ball to Tony Perez, Griffey stole second.
That was it for Burton as Reggie Cleveland came on to finish the at-bat and retire Perez to end the threat. If you're scoring at home, Burton's World Series debut involved facing two future Hall of Famers and the father of another future HOFer -- as a rookie on 23 days' rest.
Which brings us to Game 7. Tied 3-3 with 2 out in the last of the 8th, Darrell Johnson sent up Cecil Cooper to pinch-hit for pitcher Jim Willoughby. Cooper would foul out to end the inning, and the Sox' best reliever was out of the game.
Burton came on to start the top of the 9th, and would later tell Donald Hornig in The Boys of October:
"Warming up, my whole body went numb. It was surreal, like an out-of-body experience. In those days, they'd send a golf cart to bring you in, and when it came for me, I knew I couldn't ride in it. I had to trot in from the bullpen just to feel my feet on the ground. Otherwise, I might have floated away.
"I wasn't ready. I'd hardly pitched all the previous month. I was rusty. When I was warming up, I couldn't get loose. I could tell I didn't have anything."
As in Game 3, Burton was greeted by Griffey. And as he had in Game 3, Burton walked him. The payoff pitch was well high, and Pudge had to stretch his left arm and mitt like a shot-blocker to ensure it didn't sail over his head.
After three throws to first to keep Griffey at bay, Geronimo bunted him over to second. Only a great play by Rico Petrocelli, throwing with his ass planted on the ground, prevented it from being a base hit. That brought up Clay Carroll in the pitcher's spot. Sparky Anderson had already used his best right-handed pinch hitters, Merv Rettenmund and Ed Armbrister. Doug Flynn, a right-handed hitting infielder without much punch, had come out on deck during Geronimo's at-bat. But Sparky would call him back and go with slugger Dan Driessen, the third straight lefty to face the southpaw Burton.
Burton's initial offering to Driessen was up and in, and he turned on it. Not solidly, but solidly enough. More importantly, he pulled it to the right side for a grounder to second that advanced Griffey to third.
Following a mound conference with Fisk and manager Johnson, Pete Rose stood in the right-hand batter's box. Burton fell behind 2-0 on an inside fastball and low swooping curve before dropping another curve in for a strike. A third straight curve missed low again, but Burton came back with a perfect fastball on the outside corner to bring the count full. The payoff pitch wasn't even close, again way up high and outside but hauled in by Fisk as Rose trotted to first.
Up came Joe Morgan. An opening fastball was low and well outside, but the hitter fouled back a nice curve. The 1-1 pitch made my heart sink, as Morgan took an outside fastball the opposite way and hit it hard. However it wound up in the first couple rows of seats alongside Fenway's left field, barely foul, and Burton found himself ahead in the count. I could have sworn Morgan missed the next pitch, a belt-high curve inside, but he topped it foul down the first base side toward the rolled-up tarp.
Then it happened. Burton threw a slider that was perfectly placed, sweeping from the left and over the right edge of the plate. Morgan swung, arms fully extended, and got feeble wood on it. The ball lofted weakly and meekly over second base, falling into shallow center. Freddy Lynn, playing fairly deep out of respect for Morgan's power, never had a chance. Griffey trotted home for the 4-3 lead. Cleveland relieved Burton, and that's how it would end. Jim would turn 26 six days later.
Burton's postgame comments to the Globe:
"The pitch that Morgan hit was a very good pitch, a slider low and away, right where I wanted it. Give the man credit for hitting it. I don't think I could've made a better pitch. I can't say, 'Gosh, I shouldn't have thrown that pitch' or 'I should've thrown it to another location."
Reflecting on it to Hornig a dozen years ago:
"It was the best slider I ever threw. A great pitch. I put everything I had into it. Everything. It was right at Morgan, and you can see him initially bailing out on it... Then, when he realized it was going to be over the plate, he just kind of threw his bat at it."
Whatever plans Burton might have had to purge that pitch from his memory banks didn't work. He struggled in Grapefruit League play the following spring (17 hits in 3 games), and was assigned to Pawtucket where he would spend the entire season while compiling a 5.59 ERA in 28 starts with more walks (112) than strikeouts (106).
Burton would make it back to Boston and the majors in 1977, throwing 2.2 scoreless relief innings against the Orioles on September, mopping up in an 11-2 loss. It would be his final major league appearance. Just days before the Sox broke camp in spring 1978, they dealt him to the Mets for infielder Leo Foster. Burton split his final pro season between AAA Tidewater and class-A Lynchburg, and then it was over.
He was never vilified like Bill Buckner, nor did he completely melt down and wilt on the national stage like Calvin Schiraldi. But many Sox fans nonetheless split the blame for the '75 Series loss on Johnson (for bringing a rookie pitcher into such a high-pressure situation), and Burton (for giving up the run that ended it).
Johnson took the most heat, but that's a foolish stance considering the options. Willoughby and lefty Roger Moret had already pitched in Game 7. Dick Drago had thrown 35 pitches over 3 innings the night before. Dick Pole, Diego Segui and Reggie Cleveland were all righthanders, and the Reds likely would have had five lefties facing them (Griffey, Geronimo, Driessen, Rose, Morgan). If you want to fault Johnson for anything, blame him for not giving the youngster more work from September 20 to October 22.
As for blaming Burton, screw that. He had earned the right to be relied upon with an impressive three months in the bullpen. That night he faced one of the most potent lineups ever assembled, and made a great pitch when it counted. Unfortunately a Hall of Fame hitter got the best of him.
A great bio on Burton, written by Les Masterson in 2005, can be found at SABR. It concludes as follows:
In addition to spending time with his family ... and running his business, Burton spends time traveling to Haiti for missionary work. He helped open a print shop for natives and prints educational materials for the schools.
His time in Haiti also provides him with a different perspective. Giving up a game-winning hit in the World Series isn't quite as important after one sees life in the Third World. "You look back and you realize that baseball is such a small part of your life, when you think about it. There's so much that's more important," Burton told Hornig.
Godspeed, Jim.