Richard Paul Burleson (born April 29, 1951), nicknamed "Rooster", is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

. Burleson, who played for three

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

teams over 13 seasons, was an intense ballplayer. Former

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

teammate Bill Lee once said of Burleson, "Some guys didn't like to lose, but Rick got angry if the score was even tied."

Early life, family and education

Burleson graduated from Warren High School, in Downey, California. He attended Cerritos Junior College for one year.

Minor leagues

Burleson was drafted by the

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) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

in the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft upon graduation from high school, but he did not sign. After a year of

junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

, the Boston Red Sox selected Burleson #5 overall during the January secondary phase of the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft. Burleson spent his first professional season with the Winter Haven Red Sox of the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

. He batted only .220, and committed 38 errors at short. In , Burleson was named an Eastern League

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

while assigned to the Pawtucket Red Sox. Following

Luis Aparicio Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel (born April 29, 1934), nicknamed "Little Louie", is a Venezuelans, Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop from 1956 to 1973 for three American League ...

's retirement, he battled Mario Guerrero for the starting shortstop job in

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

Boston Red Sox

Though Guerrero won the job, Burleson still managed to earn a call to the major leagues by May. On May 4, Burleson tied a major league record by committing three errors in his major league debut, and was replaced by Guerrero at short by the end of the game. Despite the inauspicious start to his career, he would eventually end up being considered among the best defensive shortstops of his generation, earning a Gold Glove Award in . Burleson was batting .298 with one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

, 28

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

and 45

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...

to be elected the starting

shortstop at the 1977 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. For the season, Burleson batted .293 with three home runs, 52 RBIs and 80 runs scored, and was second to Jim Rice among team hit leaders with 194 base hits. Burleson received All-Star nods in and as well. In 1979, Burleson batted .278, scored 90 runs and earned the AL's Gold Glove Award at short to earn his first of two consecutive Thomas A. Yawkey Awards as the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (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 particular competition, or ...

of the Boston Red Sox. He batted .278 with a career high eight home runs and 89 runs scored, and set a major league record for double plays by a shortstop in a single season with 147 en route to winning the award the following season. From to , he played in at least 145 games and got at least 140 hits each season.

California Angels

Burleson was traded along with

Butch Hobson Clell Lavern "Butch" Hobson Jr. (born August 17, 1951) is an American professional baseball manager and former third baseman. Hobson played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, California Angels, and New York Yankees, and mana ...

from the Red Sox to the Angels for

Carney Lansford Carney Ray Lansford (born February 7, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman from 1978 to 1992, most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics team that ...

, Rick Miller and

Mark Clear Mark Alan Clear (born May 27, 1956) is an American former two-time All Star Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for the California Angels (1979–80, 1990), Boston Red Sox (1981–85), and Milwaukee Brewers (1986–88). He batted and ...

on December 10, 1980."Sox Trade Burleson, Hobson For Lansford, Clear, Miller," ''The Harvard Crimson'' (Harvard University), Thursday, December 11, 1980.
Retrieved November 25, 2022. His first season with the Angels, he batted .293 with 33 RBIs and 53 runs scored while playing 109 of the Angels' 110 games during the strike shortened season. He won the

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best Batting (baseball), offensive player at each Baseball positions, position in both the American League (AL) and the National League (baseball), National League (NL), as determ ...

as the best hitting shortstop in the American League and the

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...

Award as the MVP of the California Angels. A year later he injured his throwing arm, appearing in only 51 games over the next three seasons, and missing the entire season. He returned in to bat .284 with five home runs, 29 RBIs and 35 runs scored in 93 games for the

American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams cu ...

ern division winning Angels. Along with backing up Dick Schofield at short, he appeared in 38 games as a

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

, and played second and

third base 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 us ...

for the first time since his rookie season. Following the season, he signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

. He batted .209 in 55 games as a

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

for the Orioles in before he was released during the All-Star break.

Coaching and managerial career

Following his playing career, shortstop Rick Burleson was an

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

Minor league infield instructor in and scout in . He was an A's coach in and a member of the

staff the next two seasons, (–). He was a

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

Minor league Baserunning Instructor in and a coach for the

(–). Since the season, he has managed in the minors for the Lancaster JetHawks (1997-), San Bernardino Stampede (), where he won the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...

championship,

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Missions compete in the Texas League as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Nelson W. W ...

(), Billings Mustangs (-), where he won Pioneer League championships in and , and

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, wi ...

(-), before returning to Billings for two seasons (-). In , he replaced Pat Kelly as manager of the GCL Reds, after Kelly was named bench coach by the Cincinnati Reds. In , Burleson switched to the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

system and worked as a coach for the Visalia Oaks. From 2009 to 2012, Burleson served as hitting coach and first base coach for the Reno Aces of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, the triple-A affiliate of the

Personal life

Burleson is the father of three sons.

References

*''The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia'' – Gary Gillette, Peter Gammons, Pete Palmer. Publisher: Sterling Publishing, 2005. Format: Paperback, 1824pp. Language: English.

External links

Rick Burleson
at Baseball Almanac
Rick Burleson Baseball
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burleson, Rick 1951 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela American expatriate baseball players in Canada American League All-Stars Baltimore Orioles players Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from Downey, California Billings Mustangs managers Boston Red Sox coaches Boston Red Sox players California Angels coaches California Angels players Edmonton Trappers players Gold Glove Award winners Greenville Red Sox players Louisville Bats managers Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third base coaches Oakland Athletics coaches Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Lynwood, California San Antonio Missions managers Silver Slugger Award winners Winston-Salem Red Sox players Winter Haven Red Sox players