Pete Burnside

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Pete Burnside
Pitcher
Born: (1930-07-02)July 2, 1930
Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
Died: August 26, 2022(2022-08-26) (aged 92)
Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Left
MLB debut
September 20, 1955, for the New York Giants
Last MLB appearance
September 27, 1963, for the Washington Senators
MLB statistics
Win–loss record19–36
Earned run average4.81
Strikeouts303
Teams

Peter Willits Burnside (July 2, 1930 – August 26, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and left-handed

Washington Senators and Baltimore Orioles
. He was listed as 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and 180 pounds (82 kg).

Burnside grew up in Evanston, Illinois, rooting for the Chicago Cubs. He signed with the New York Giants out of high school, under the agreement that he could earn his degree at Dartmouth College while pitching in their minor league system. After a stint in the United States Army, Burnside made his major league debut in 1955, picking up his first win the same year and impressing Carl Hubbell, Giants' Hall of Fame pitcher and farm director. Injuries prevented Burnside's return to the big leagues until 1957, and he only won one of the 16 games he pitched for the Giants in 1957 and 1958. Acquired by the Detroit Tigers for 1959, Burnside spent the whole season in their bullpen that year. Getting a chance to start with the team in 1960, he had a career-high seven wins before being selected by the Washington Senators in the expansion draft.

In 1961, the Senators used Burnside as a starter at the beginning of the year. He lost his rotation spot due to ineffective pitching, altered his delivery, and rejoined the starting rotation in September, throwing two shutouts. He started 1962 in their rotation again but lost his spot; though he set a career high with 20 starts, he also lost a career-high 11 games. He was traded to the Baltimore Orioles after the season, started 1963 in their bullpen, and was reacquired by the Senators following his release in May; however, he had a 6.15 earned run average for Washington. He went to Japan following the season, pitching two years with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball before returning to Illinois to become a teacher and coach at New Trier High School, his alma mater.

Early life

Burnside was born July 2, 1930, in

double-major in history and sociology.[1]

Career

Burnside's professional career began in 1949 with the

Class AA Southern Association.[1] In nine games for Nashville, he had a 2–3 record and a 4.90 ERA—and then, with the Korean War going on, Burnside was drafted into the United States Army Medical Corps, ending his season.[1][2]

While in the military, Burnside continued his pitching, drawing national attention by striking out the first 17 batters of a game he pitched for the Hilltoppers, the baseball team for

Sporting News.[1] Burnside continued to hone his skills in winter ball, joining Giants' stars Willie Mays and Rubén Gómez in helping the Cangrejeros de Santurce win a pennant.[1]

Burnside attended

earned) in 32⁄3 innings against the cellar-dwelling Pittsburgh Pirates. While the Giants' offense bailed him out—Burnside departed the game with New York leading 11–7. His early exit kept him from claiming the victory in an eventual 14–8 Giants' triumph; that went to relief ace Hoyt Wilhelm.[4] In his second start a week later, however, Burnside threw a complete game, seven-hitter, earning the win in a 5–2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.[5]

In spring training, 1956, Burnside suffered a pulled tendon in his left leg and was sent to Minneapolis shortly before the season began. Then, he broke his left foot and missed much of the first half of the Millers' season with various injuries. When he was healthy, he was not always effective. For example, he had a 1–7 record in his final eight

decisions.[1] In 22 games (19 starts), he had a 5–9 record, a 4.62 ERA, 71 strikeouts, and 50 walks in 113 innings.[2] He was called up in September by the Giants but did not appear in any games.[1]

Burnside made the Giants out of spring training for the first time in 1957.[1] He got his second (and last) victory in a Giant uniform April 23, when he threw a complete game, three-hit shutout to defeat the Pirates 1–0 at the Polo Grounds.[6] He failed to get through the inning in three of his next four starts, then got sent to Minneapolis in May, though he was called up at the end of the month when the Giants hit a stretch of 15 games in 13 days.[1] On June 2, he limited the Pirates to two runs in 5+1⁄3 innings of the second game of a doubleheader but took the loss in a 2–0 defeat. He made three more starts, then was sent back to Minneapolis. Hubbell felt that he was trying too hard in the major leagues and that he did better with the Millers because he relaxed more.[1] Indeed, Burside got off to an 8–0 start with the Millers, finishing 10–5 with a 2.47 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 131 innings.[1][2] Again, he was called up by the Giants in September but did not appear in any games.[1] In 10 games (nine starts) with the Giants, he had a 1–4 record, an 8.80 ERA, and 18 strikeouts in 30+2⁄3 innings pitched.[7]

While Burnside did not have a great spring training in 1958, he was added to the Giants' first San Francisco roster because the team did not wish to expose him to

Phoenix Giants of the Pacific Coast League, to finish out the year. He threw three shutouts with Phoenix, posting an 11–7 record, a 3.91 ERA, and 113 strikeouts in 152 innings.[2] With San Francisco, he had a 6.75 ERA in six games (one start).[7] The Giants sold his contract to the Detroit Tigers on October 5, 1958.[7]

"He’s always had a good arm,” Tigers general manager John McHale said of the new acquisition. “We’ve had some good reports on Burnside. Several times he’s been on the verge of establishing himself in the major leagues.”[1] Burnside entered 1959 with another new pitch, a screwball, which he had learned from teammate Marv Grissom in 1958 and practiced in winter ball over the offseason.[1] For the first time in 1959, Burnside spent the whole season in the major leagues. Used exclusively in relief throughout the year, he had his best month in July, allowing only two earned runs in 14+1⁄3 innings.[10] In 30 games, he had a 1–3 record and a 3.77 ERA in 62 innings.[7]

Burnside competed for a spot in the Tiger rotation in 1960, did not get it, and was assigned to the

Washington Senators to take him with the eighth overall pick.[7]

Used as a starter at the beginning of the year, Burnside suffered from inconsistency. In one of his better starts on May 12, he only allowed two hits in seven innings against the

Los Angeles Angels.[16] Then, pitching coach Sid Hudson suggested Burnside shorten his stride on the mound, and Burnside improved enough to return to the rotation in September.[1] Though his record was just 3–3 for the month, he had a 1.80 ERA and threw two shutouts, both coming against the Athletics: a five-hitter on the 16th and a two-hitter on the 29th.[16] “His improvement was sudden but [certain],” Ed Doherty, the Senators' general manager, had to say. “When he had those good days late in the season, there was not a better pitcher in the league.”[1] In 33 games (16 starts), Burnside had a 4–9 record, a 4.53 ERA, ad 56 strikeouts in 113+1⁄3 innings pitched.[7] He and Bennie Daniels were projected to be the team's top two starters for 1962.[1]

On April 14, 1962, Burnside limited the Indians to four hits and two runs in a 5–2 victory, pitching a complete game that only lasted five innings because of rain.[17] The team was in last place by May 23, when Burnside held the Angels to nine hits and went the distance in a 7–2 victory.[18] He had a winning record (4–3) in his first nine starts of 1962, with a 3.45 ERA. After that, he lost seven of his last eight decisions, as well as his starting spot after August 8.[19] He had an 8.18 ERA in August, allowing 16 runs in 12 innings in the three starts he made that month.[1][19] He set career highs that year in starts (20), complete games (six), innings (149+2⁄3), and strikeouts (74) but had a 4.45 ERA and set career highs in losses (11) and home runs allowed (20).[7] On December 5, he and Bob Johnson were traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Marv Breeding, Art Quirk, and Barry Shetrone.[7]

Acquired by the Orioles to replace Billy Hoeft, Burnside was projected by Baltimore manager Billy Hitchcock to be another left-hander for the 1963 Oriole bullpen.[1][20] He had a 4.91 ERA in five relief appearances for Baltimore through early May of 1963, then drew his unconditional release on May 9.[7] The Houston Colt .45's offered him a tryout, but Burnside re-signed with Washington on May 24, replacing Quirk (a pitcher), who had just been optioned to the minor leagues.[1] He was used mostly in relief this time around, and only allowed one run in seven relief appearances in July.[21] Gil Hodges, manager of the Senators, called Burnside “a front-line reliever” in an article that appeared in the Sporting News in early September, but Burnside posted a 12.19 ERA that month, failing to record an out in either of his last two appearances.[1][21] In 38 games with the Senators, he had an 0–1 record, a 6.15 ERA, and 23 strikeouts in 67+1⁄3 innings pitched.[7]

After the 1963 season, the Senators were going to assign Burnside to the

fanned 303. He threw 14 complete games and three shutouts and, as a reliever, registered seven saves.[7]

Later life

Burnside met his future wife, Suzette Herbuveaux, while pitching for Phoenix in 1958. The couple was married before he went to Hanshin and had three children, a daughter and two younger sons. Following his baseball career, Burnside obtained his master's degree from Northwestern University, then returned to his high school alma mater, New Trier, where he was a teacher and coach from 1967 through 1993, when he retired. He was lifelong friends with former Senator teammate Don Zimmer.[1] Burnside died August 26, 2022.[22]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag Skelton, David E. "Pete Burnside". SABR. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Pete Burnside Minor & Japanese League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  3. ^ "The 1955 NY N Regular Season Pitching Log for Pete Burnside". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  4. ^ "New York Giants 14, Pittsburgh Pirates 8 (2)". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  5. ^ "New York Giants 5, Philadelphia Phillies 2 (1)". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  6. ^ "New York Giants 1, Pittsburgh Pirates 0". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Pete Burnside Stats". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  8. ^ "Pete Burnside 1958 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  9. ^ "Milwaukee Braves at San Francisco Giants Box Score, June 4, 1958". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  10. ^ "Pete Burnside 1959 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  11. ^ "Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Indians Box Score, April 19, 1960". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Pete Burnside 1960 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  13. ^ "Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Athletics Box Score, July 9, 1960". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  14. ^ "New York Yankees at Detroit Tigers Box Score, July 17, 1960". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  15. ^ "Boston Red Sox at Washington Senators Box Score, May 12, 1961". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  16. ^ a b "Pete Burnside 1961 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  17. ^ Down, Fred (April 14, 1962). "Giants flyin' high with 4-0 record". The Bulletin. p. 2. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  18. ^ Hackleman, Jim (May 24, 1962). "Bad-Luck Donovan 8-Game Winner This Time". The Sumter Daily Item. p. 7. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  19. ^ a b "Pete Burnside 1962 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  20. ^ Hitchcock, Billy (May 12, 1963). "Luis Aparicio Gives Orioles Best Infield". Ocala Star-Banner. p. 9. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  21. ^ a b "Pete Burnside 1963 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  22. ^ "Peter Willits Burnside". Donnellan Family Funeral Services. Retrieved September 4, 2022.

External links

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