We sometimes get caught up in ranking guys on prospect lists, wondering what so and so will become, etc etc, and sometimes we forget that not every guy in the minors is a prospect, and not every guy is going to make it to the big leagues. Many of these guys know that, yet they continue to play in hopes of one day getting their shot, much like Chris Coste did last season. For every Chris Coste, there are hundreds of guys who won’t make it, but they keep plugging along in hopes of one day getting their shot. Donald Leypoldt, a freelance writer from the Manchester Silkworms of the NECBL, and he passed along a nice article he wrote on Gary Burnham, so I felt I’d share it here. Your feedback, as always, is appreciated.

TEACHING THE DREAM WHILE CHASING THE DREAM
By Don Leypoldt

Gary Burnham knows a thing or two about hitting. The Ottawa Lynx first baseman holds the double-A Reading Phillies career home run record, earned professional baseball all-star accolades in the past two seasons and wrote his name all over the record books of one of the NCAA’s most storied programs.

At 32, the lefty slugger is trying to become this year’s version of Chris Coste: a career minor leaguer putting up big numbers on the farm in the hopes of finally earning an elusive call up to Philadelphia. Unfortunately for Burnham, his path is blocked by another left hitting first baseman who just happens to be the reigning National League MVP- Ryan Howard. Nonetheless, Burnham has learned a thing or two about gumption and positive thinking during his playing days.

Burnham has been one of the few bright spots on a Lynx offense struggling mightily to score runs. Thanks to a .316 average in August, Burnham was hitting .295, with a .390 OBP and a .435 slugging percentage through August 17th. He had homered 10 times, driven in 71 runs and walked (59 times) nearly as often as he struck out (62). Burnham’s home run, RBI and slugging percentage total all led or tied the Lynx- who ranked dead last in the International League in both slugging and round trippers.

Burnham, the Gatorade Connecticut State Player of the Year as a high school senior, was selected by the Cubs in the 22nd round of the 1993 Amateur Draft; he passed on the offer to go to Clemson. Playing along side future major leaguers like Kris Benson, Matt LeCroy and Billy Koch, Burnham left college with an eye-popping .340 lifetime batting average and a .571 career slugging percentage. His 209 RBIs rank sixth all time in Clemson history.

“What I learned (at Clemson) was that if you don’t truly capitalize on an opportunity that you have by going to a school like that, and if you’re not all eyes and ears, and you don’t take in all the information by being around those kinds of players all of the time, then you’re missing out on your own personal development,” he observes.

In his senior campaign, Burnham walloped 15 homers and drove in 82 in just 64 games. He walked more than he struck out in all four of his collegiate seasons. That kind of production and plate discipline gets noticed by scouts and the Philadelphia Phillies selected Burnham in, ironically, the 22nd round of the 1997 draft.

Yet after playing three full seasons in triple-A, Burnham found himself starting for the Independent League Bridgeport Bluefish at the start of 2005. He made the most of the opportunity by hitting .320, crushing 18 homers and being named to the Atlantic League all-star team.

“In 2002, I was MVP of my triple-A team and I didn’t get called up to the big leagues,” says Burnham. “That offseason I thought, ‘What can I do to put me over the top so I can get that break I’m looking for?’ I decided to get Lasik eye surgery and the first time I did it, it gave me night blindness. I couldn’t see the ball at night.” Burnham eventually had his vision corrected, but his numbers suffered in the meantime.

Once a second surgery corrected his vision, Burnham launched straight into his 2005 all-star campaign. “The only thing that had changed was that I was seeing the ball better,” he states.

The Phillies scooped up the newly eagle-eyed hitter from Bridgeport- for a second stint with the organization- and sent him to double-A Reading. Burnham’s .341 batting average and 60 RBIs in less than 300 at-bats earned him 2006 Eastern League all-star honors, the Reading team MVP award and most importantly- a promotion to then triple-A Scranton where he blasted 18 hits in 46 at bats for a .391 clip.

While Burnham pursues his own big league dreams, he spends his offseasons helping youngsters try and fulfill their’s. For the last 10 winters, Burnham has run hitting clinics near his South Windsor, Connecticut home.

“I emphasize building self-confidence through correct fundamentals of the game,” says Burnham. “These guys will be learning what I am learning through ten years of professional baseball. What I try to do is relay that information to the kids so that they can eliminate so many common errors that are made.”

“Baseball is a game of failure,” he continues. “I always tell kids that, especially in a sport like baseball, you need to focus on what you are doing. When I got to triple-A…I started building my confidence by focusing on positive things in my season and in my life.

“It’s true about the power of positive thinking. If the kids go up to the plate and they’re thinking ‘Don’t strike out’, they’ll strike out. If they go up there with the mentality of ‘I don’t care if I strike out. I’m confident that I’m going to crush the ball on the barrel,’ they will. I try to build these kids’ confidence on drills where they can be successful.”

Burnham describes himself as a “show me, not tell me” teacher. This September, Phillies fans will be watching to see if Burnham can show them how to make the Majors.

Don Leypoldt is a freelance writer and the Sports Information Representative from the Manchester Silkworms of the NECBL