DAILY NEWS BERNIE MILLIGAN: MAJOR COMMITMENT HART'S BURROWS FOCUSES ON PRO PITCHING CAREER.Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer Chris Burrows had just stepped off the mound after pitching two near- perfect innings in the Lasorda Cup at Dodger Stadium • • [ in August. He went over to his father and told him for the first time that he wanted to be a major-league starting pitcher Noun 1. starting pitcher - (baseball) a pitcher who starts in a baseball game baseball, baseball game - a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs; "he played baseball in high school"; . Never mind that he had yet to start a varsity game in high school. Ten months later, Burrows has made 11 starts and hasn't suffered a loss. He finished 8-0 with a 0.76 earned run average earned run average n. Baseball Abbr. ERA A measure of a pitcher's performance obtained by dividing the total of earned runs allowed by the total of innings pitched and multiplying by nine. Noun 1. to break the Hart High record for lowest ERA in a season. The previous record of 0.91 was set in 1990 by Andrew Lorraine Andrew Jason Lorraine (born August 11, 1972, in Los Angeles, California), is a left-handed professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1994-2002. , who became a first-round draft pick. After pitching 16 innings his junior year, Burrows came out of nowhere to make the 25th annual Daily News Bernie Milligan All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league. The players are often chosen by a popular vote of fans of the sport and the game often occurs at the halfway point of the regular season, although this is not the case for some all-star games , June 9 at Lancaster Municipal Stadium. ``I can't wait to play in the All-Star Game,'' Burrows said. ``Since the season ended, I have been working really hard. It will be good competition, but when the batter walks up to the plate, I will know I've worked harder than him.'' Burrows has worked as hard as anyone in high school baseball since the end of his junior year. Disappointed with his lack of opportunity, he set out to make sure Hart coach Jim Ozella had no choice but to put him in the rotation. His father, Bruce, was glad his son had set a goal, and wanted to do everything he could to help him accomplish it. Playing golf as a guest at The Quarry Country Club in La Quinta, Bruce found himself in a foursome with UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX football coach Bob Toledo Bob Toledo (born March 4, 1946, in San Jose, California) is an American football coach, recently hired as head coach at Tulane University. He is best-known as the thirteenth head coach at UCLA. . Bruce asked Toledo for advice on helping his son learn to pitch. Toledo passed him on to UCLA baseball coach Gary Adams, who recommended a pitching instructor, former minor-league pitcher Ken Medlock. Medlock watched the 6-foot-3, 180-pound right-hander pitch once and agreed to coach him. They built a pitching mound in Burrows' backyard, complete with red clay and a major-league approved home plate. After working with Burrows for a short time, Medlock asked George Genovese, the scout who drafted him, to take a look at Chris. Genovese, who runs a Dodgers scout team In sports, the scout team, also referred to as a practice team or practice squad, is a group of players on a team whose task is to emulate future opponents for the featured (or starting) players. in the summer, liked what he saw and invited Burrows to try out for the team. Chris became the youngest player to make the Dodgers scout team, which consists of college and minor-league players without an organization. He played against scout teams of other major-league clubs, with many of the players in their mid-20s. ``I found out that location is a huge thing,'' Burrows said. ``In high school, I could throw a hanging curve and maybe they would take it. In the scout league, they'd hit it on top of a house.'' Genovese said he was impressed by the way Burrows handled himself when put up against much more experienced players. ``He showed me a lot of poise and characteristics I look for in a ballplayer,'' said Genovese, who as a scout for the Giants from 1960-1994 had San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden draft Matt Williams Matt Williams can refer to different people:
Burrows said he was honored by the comparison, and Genovese has called him Orel ever since. But he didn't really gain confidence in his ability until the Lasorda Cup, a game between 80 top high school players. Chris Seddon of Canyon and Richie Martin of Valencia, both of whom made the Bernie Milligan Game, were two other local players in the Lasorda Cup. Burrows pitched two innings, striking out four and allowing one hit. After the game, Dodgers scout Artie Harris singled him out as one of three players who impressed him the most. Confident going into his senior season, Burrows earned a spot on a tight rotation. Hart had depth as one of the top high school teams in the country, finishing with a record of 27-2. The Indians went with a three-man rotation, rare in high school, in order to get Burrows in the mix. Burrows' performance was a pleasant surprise to teammates. ``He pretty much came out of nowhere,'' said first baseman Chris Gagnon, one of five Indians to join Burrows on the Bernie Milligan roster. ``He earned a lot of respect by the way he pitched. You have to give him a lot of credit. He came a hell of a long way from what he was last year.'' Still, college coaches aren't knocking down his door. Colleges do most of their recruiting and scouting of juniors. When players don't come on until their senior years, as with Burrows, they are often overlooked. Burrows could get late interest, maybe after showcasing his talents in the Bernie Milligan Game. But he might go to a community college for his first year. He scored nearly 1,200 on his SAT. ``If he doesn't get any offers, I'll be very surprised,'' Genovese said. ``You can't do any better than he's done. His record speaks for itself. I've looked at ballplayers for a long time. There's no reason, barring injury, that this kid won't pitch in the major leagues.'' ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Who: Pablo Suarez Year participated: 1986 School: Chaminade Now living in: Stevenson Ranch Currently: Pharmaceutical wholesaler in Valencia. Bernie Milligan memories: ``I remember pitching against Rod Beck. He was the starting pitcher for the East.'' He also cut short a trip to Hawaii so he could attend the practice and game. CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1) Despite only pitching 16 innings last season, Hart's Chris Burrows set a school record with a 0.76 ERA this year. Han Gutknecht/Staff Photographer (2) no caption (Pablo Suarez) Box: Alumni Spotlight (see text) |
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