UM Hall of Famer Pat Burrell Wins World Series Title
Oct. 30, 2008
PHILADELPHIA –University of Miami Hall of Famer Pat Burrell became the second Hurricane in as many years to win a Major League Baseball World Series title as the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-3, Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park. Burrell, who has spent his entire 11-year big league career with the Phillies, delivered what would prove to be the series-clinching run with a double in the seventh inning as Philadelphia won its first championship since 1980 with a 4-1 series win.
With the score tied at three in the seventh, Burrell – the Phillies’ starting leftfielder – hit a 1-1 pitch off the wall in center off J.P. Howell to lead off the bottom half of the inning. After Burrell was lifted for pinch-runner Eric Bruntlett, Pedro Feliz drove in the game-winning run two batters later with a one-out single up the middle of Chad Bradford to plate Bruntlett from third.
A third baseman at Miami from 1996-98, Burrell follows up former UM shortstop Alex Cora, who on a ring last year with the Boston Red Sox.
Heading into the at-bat, Burrell was 0-for-1 with two walks in the game that began on Monday and resumed on Wednesday after two straight days of inclement weather in the Philadelphia area.
During the regular season, Burrell hit .250 with 33 home runs, 86 RBI and 33 doubles. For the postseason, he had 10 hits, three home runs and eight RBI in 14 games. The longest-tenured player on the Phillies’ roster, Burrell has 251 homers, 827 RBI, 655 runs scored and 1,166 hits in his big league career.
Recognized as one of the greatest players in UM history, Burrell finished his three-year career in Coral Gables with a program-high .442 career batting average. He ranks second in UM history in career home runs (61) and total bases (465), while ranking fifth in RBI (187) and fourth in walks (170) despite only playing three seasons.
The only Hurricane to have ever won the Golden Spikes Award, Burrell was inducted into the UM Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. He became Miami’s first No. 1 overall pick of the Major League Baseball Draft in June of 1998 after hitting .432 with 17 home runs and 47 RBI his junior year.
