Jim Scott Burton (October 27, 1949 – December 12, 2013) was a

middle relief pitcher In baseball, a middle reliever or middle relief pitcher, is a relief pitcher who typically pitches during the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings of a standard baseball game. In leagues with no designated hitter, such as in the National League prio ...

who played for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

in the 1975 and 1977 seasons. Listed at , , Burton batted right-handed and threw left-handed. He was born in

Royal Oak, Michigan Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Royal Oak is about north of Detroit's city limits. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 57,236. Royal Oak is located along th ...

. The Red Sox drafted Burton out of the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in the first round (5th pick) of the 1971 draft. He was 25 years old when he made his major league debut on June 10, 1975. His uniform number was 43.

Professional career

Burton is best known as the losing pitcher of Game 7 of the

1975 World Series The 1975 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1975 season. The 72nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the Natio ...

. After Red Sox

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Darrell Johnson Darrell Dean Johnson (August 25, 1928 – May 3, 2004) was an American Major League Baseball catcher, coach, manager and scout. As a manager, he led the 1975 Boston Red Sox to the American League pennant, and was named "Manager of the Year" b ...

pinch hit In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...

for closer

Jim Willoughby James Arthur Willoughby (born January 31, 1949) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1971 through 1978 for the San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox. Listed at 6' 2" , 185 lb. , he batted and threw ri ...

in the bottom of the eighth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

, Burton was sent to the mound for the top of the ninth inning to face the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

in a 3–3 tied game. In two-thirds of an inning, he walked two batters and surrendered the game-winning hit to the Reds'

Joe Morgan Joe Leonard Morgan (September 19, 1943 – October 11, 2020) was an American professional baseball second baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Colt .45s / Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, ...

. Burton made his last pitching appearance on September 17, 1977. Then, on March 29, 1978, he was traded by the Red Sox to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

in exchange for

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various st ...

Leo Foster. In a two-season career, Burton posted a 1–2 record with a 2.75

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

and one save in 30

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although except ...

. He played 29 games in the 1975 season, with 53 innings pitched and a 2.89 ERA, but only pitched 2.2 innings in a 1977 game. His one save came on September 13, 1975, in the second game of a Red Sox doubleheader against the Brewers. Burton pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings to nail down the 6–3 victory over the Brewers. Burton saved the game for starting pitcher Reggie Cleveland.

Death

Burton died in December 2013 in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, at the age of 64.

References

External links

, o
RetrosheetSABR BioProject – Jim Burton biography by Les Masterson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Jim 1949 births 2013 deaths Boston Red Sox players Bristol Red Sox players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Lynchburg Mets players Major League Baseball pitchers Michigan Wolverines baseball players Pawtucket Red Sox players Baseball players from Charlotte, North Carolina Sportspeople from Royal Oak, Michigan Baseball players from Oakland County, Michigan Tidewater Tides players