Sean Patrick Burroughs (born September 12, 1980) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB) for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

, and

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. During his playing days, Burroughs stood tall, weighing . He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

Early life

Burroughs is the son of former major leaguer Jeff Burroughs and was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, when his father was a member of the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

. He starred in the

Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the Wor ...

as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

when he was growing up in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, winning the championship in 1992 and 1993. He is the first American-born player to throw back-to-back no-hitters in the Little League World Series (Ching-Hui Huang of 1973 Tainan, Taiwan threw a perfect game in the first round, and no-hitter in the championship game as the Taiwanese team did not allow a hit in the entire LLWS).

Career

San Diego Padres

The

selected Burroughs in the first round, with the ninth overall selection, of the 1998 MLB draft. In 2000, Burroughs appeared in the

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National Leag ...

, and was named the game's

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a partic ...

. Burroughs first joined the Padres in 2002. He hit a game-winning single in the first game played at San Diego's

Petco Park Petco Park is a baseball stadium in Downtown San Diego, California. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres, and has also been used as a venue for concerts, soccer, golf, and rugby. The ballpark is located bet ...

and a near-division clinching double off San Francisco's

Armando Benítez Armando Benítez (born November 3, 1972) is a Dominican former major league relief pitcher. Benítez debuted with the Baltimore Orioles in 1994 and within a few years became their closer. He was a reliever for several other organizations after Ba ...

in 2005.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Burroughs's career fell apart during the 2006 season, after being traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in exchange for Dewon Brazelton. Burroughs would bat just .190 in limited playing time before being optioned to the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

, Tampa Bay's Triple-A affiliate. Burroughs was designated for assignment on June 22, ending his tenure with the Devil Rays franchise.

Seattle Mariners

On December 24, 2006, Burroughs signed a minor league contract with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...

, but was released on June 15, 2007, less than halfway through the season.

Out of Baseball

Burroughs struggled with injuries after a collision at second base at Dodger Stadium, culminating in a period in which he was out of baseball. As a result, he did not play baseball at all from 2008–2010. He had a comeback with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2011.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On November 22, 2010, Burroughs signed a minor league contract with the

. He had his contract purchased by Arizona on May 18, 2011, after four seasons out of the major leagues. He was placed on waivers on June 19, after hitting .261 for Arizona and outrighted to the minor leagues. After third baseman

Melvin Mora Melvin Mora Diaz (born February 2, 1972) is a Venezuelan-American former professional baseball infielder. He played for the New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). From his ...

was released, Burroughs was promoted back to Arizona on July 1, 2011 where he returned to the starting line-up. He had some key hits which helped the team reach the playoffs. He declared free agency on October 21.

Minnesota Twins

On December 14, 2011, he signed a minor league contract with the

. He made the major league team in spring training. In October 2012, Burroughs elected minor league free agency.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On April 12, 2013, he signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

and reported to the AA

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

. He played in 57 games for the Lookouts and hit .220.

Independent leagues

Burroughs signed with the

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseba ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

for 2014 season. He resigned with the Bluefish for the 2015 season. On August 8, 2015, Burroughs was traded to the rival

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor-league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "part ...

for Outfielder Bryan Sabatella. On August 1, 2016, Burroughs was reacquired by the

for Pitcher D. J. Mitchell. On November 1, 2017, Burroughs was drafted by the

in the

dispersal draft. He became a free agent after the 2017 season.

References

External links

Sean Burroughs
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burroughs, Sean 1980 births Living people Arizona Diamondbacks players Baseball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Baseball players from Atlanta Bravos de Margarita players Bridgeport Bluefish players Chattanooga Lookouts players Durham Bulls players Fort Wayne Wizards players Long Island Ducks players Major League Baseball third basemen Minnesota Twins players Mobile BayBears players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in baseball Portland Beavers players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Reno Aces players Rochester Red Wings players San Diego Padres players Baseball players from Long Beach, California Tacoma Rainiers players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Wilson Classical High School alumni