Page 16 - 1975 BoSox

’75—THE RED SOX TEAM THAT SAVED BASEBALL 9
as a shortstop, although returning as a second baseman was still a possibility. Burleson returned to the Angels roster in September, but only to be used as a pinch- hitter and pinch-runner. Even in his limited role, Burleson proved to be feisty, criticizing management for failing to make moves that would keep the team in contention.
After the season Burleson slipped and dislocated his shoulder while lifting weights, causing nerve damage in his arm. e injury cost him the entire 1985 season. Undaunted, Burleson continued his rehabilitation, trying to return and reward the patience that the Angels had shown in him. Working with Dr. Arthur Pappas (the Red Sox team physician), he progressed to a point where in 1986 he attempted in the nal year of his six-year contract to come back as a second baseman. By March 9 he was able to play at second, attempting a relay throw from short center eld in an exhibition game, with no ill e ects. Burleson began the regular season hitting .318 for the rst week, and played second, third, and shortstop. Eventually, Dick Scho eld, who had taken over as shortstop by 1984, returned to the lineup, taking Burleson out of the eld and relegating him to designated-hitter duties against left-handers. Still, Burleson continued to make his presence known in the clubhouse and on the eld when called upon, mostly as a late-inning substitute in the eld. In the playo series against his former team, the Red Sox, Burleson batted .273, hitting 3-for- 11 in four games. His performance earned him the American League Comeback Player of the Year award for 1986.
Burleson became a free agent and signed with the Baltimore Orioles on January 7, 1987, but was released on July 11 after playing 55 games at second base and seven games as a designated hitter. He’d batted just .209. It was the end of his 13 seasons of major- league ball.
Starting in 1989 Burleson was successively a part-time instructor in the Oakland Athletics system, a scout for the A’s in 1990, and then, in 1991, full-time batting instructor under manager Tony LaRussa. After the 1991 season he left the A’s and took the batting-coach
job with the Red Sox under former teammate Butch Hobson. Former Red Sox manager Don Zimmer was third-base coach, though Burleson replaced Zimmer there at midseason, when Zimmer became Hobson’s bench coach. Burleson continued as third-base coach for the 1993 season.
Burleson was the Angels’ minor-league baserunning coordinator in 1994 and their third-base coach in 1995 and 1996. He debuted as a manager in 1997 with Seattle’s Lancaster farm team (California League), and the JetHawks went 75-66 in his inaugural season, improved to 78-62 in 1998, each year making the playo s. Burleson joined the Dodgers organization in 1999, leading San Bernardino to an 80-61 record and the California League championship. He was promoted to Double-A San Antonio in 2000 and led the club to a 64-76 mark — his only sub-.500 record as a manager. Burleson guided the Billings (Montana) Mustangs in 2001, 2002, and the rst half of the 2003 season, compiling a 108-80 (.574) record, and helped the Mustangs to a pair of Pioneer League champion- ships (2001, 2003). He was promoted to manager of the Louisville RiverBats for the second half of the 2003 season and the 2004 season. While at Louisville, Burleson gave an insight into his managerial philoso- phy: “When a guy needs a kick in the butt, he’s going to get it. And when he needs a pat on the back, he’s going to get that, too.”19 Burleson did not believe in a lot of rules for his players, except requiring them to be prepared and on time, avoiding mental mistakes, and playing hard. He was reassigned to the Billings Mustangs for the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
In 2007 Burleson became a roving minor-league in- structor for the Cincinnati Reds, as well as a Gulf Coast League manager. In 2008 he joined the Arizona Diamondbacks organization as their Single-A hitting coach, and became the hitting and rst-base coach for their Triple-A a liate, the Reno Aces in 2009.
Burleson’s reputation as a hard-nosed, aggressive player can be supported statistically, especially in the years 1975-1980, when he averaged over 150 games and over 600 at-bats per season, despite an ailing shoulder. His clutch performances in 1975 against Oakland, batting