Friday, September 9, 2022

#219 Lew Burdette - Milwaukee Braves


Selva Lewis Burdette
Milwaukee Braves
Pitcher


Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  180
Born:  November 22, 1926, Nitro, WV
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent, April 6, 1947
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1950; Boston Braves 1951-1952; Milwaukee Braves 1953-1963; St. Louis Cardinals 1963-1964; Chicago Cubs 1964-1965; Philadelphia Phillies 1965; California Angels 1966-1967
Died:  February 6, 2007, Winter Garden, FL (age 80)

Lew Burdette, or Lou Burdette depending on the year of his Topps card, spent an impressive 18 years in the major leagues and was the World Series MVP in 1957 with the Braves.  Relying on pinpoint control, Burdette was one of the more dominant pitchers in the National League between 1956 and 1959, going to the All-Star Game twice, winning at least 20 games twice and winning the league's ERA title in 1956 with a 2.70 mark.  Atop the Braves starting pitching rotation with Warren Spahn (#10) and Bob Buhl (#244), Burdette was a key factor in the only World Series title in Milwaukee Braves history.  The Braves downed the Yankees in seven games, with Burdette going 3-0 with 3 complete games, including two shutouts, with a 0.67 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 27 innings pitched.  He pitched a no-hitter against the Phillies on August 18, 1960, missing a perfect game only because he had hit Tony Gonzalez with a pitch in the fifth inning.

After leaving the Braves in 1963, Burdette shifted to mostly relief pitching and at 39-years-old was one of the American League's top relievers in 1969 with the Angels.  For his career, Burdette went 203-144 with a 3.66 ERA with 158 complete games and 33 shutouts.  He had 1,074 strikeouts to just 628 walks, and his career average of 1.84 walks per nine innings puts him fifth on the list of pitchers with that low a mark and at least 3,000 innings pitched since 1920.  He briefly served as the Braves' pitching coach in 1972 and 1973.  Burdette was elected to the Braves Hall of Fame in 2001.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchases - Card #328
I first shared this story with the Roberto Clemente (#33) post, but I'll repeat myself here.  The way my Dad and I finished the 1956 Topps set was somewhat anti-climatic but nevertheless a joyful memory.  Leading up to the Christmas of 2007, my Dad (with the help of my Mom) scoured eBay and other online baseball card stores for the remaining 29 cards we needed to complete the set.  Throughout the weeks and months leading up to the holidays, he knew we had completed the set but he kept it quiet, wanting to surprise me on Christmas morning.  I have no idea, and I'll never know, what the true last card was that he acquired to finish off the set.  And I have no record, nor was he able to tell me, how much they had paid for any of these final 29 cards.

December 24, 2007 - Doug and Dad
Our son Doug had just turned one, and on Christmas morning 2007, we were anxiously awaiting the arrival of our families to our house to celebrate the day.  I've had a few rough Christmases, but this was one of the worst as my Dad ended up in the hospital that day and it was the beginning of his health struggles that would continue until he passed away in late 2011.  He was discharged from the hospital three days later, and it was only then we celebrated Christmas together, on December 28th, and I opened the package containing the last of the cards needed for our 1956 Topps set.

Dad was understandably distraught that Christmas, but not solely because of his own health issues.  Because of his unselfish nature, he was worried that he had ruined Christmas for everyone since we had spent the holidays in a hospital.  He was also upset that his surprise package containing those last 29 baseball cards sat in the back seat of his car for three days until he recovered enough to come home.  I was just happy to have him out of the hospital, but I do remember feeling confused and somewhat hopeless as we weren't quite sure yet what was wrong with him.

I don't have any pictures from December 28th, which is unusual for me.  I'm assuming I was just happy that Dad was out of the hospital and taking pictures never crossed my mind.

The Card / Braves Team Set
Having appeared in Bowman sets between 1952 and 1955, this is Burdette's first Topps card.  That's Burdette wearing #33 and crossing the plate as the catcher attempts to tag him out.  He scored ten runs in 1955, with three against the Dodgers, three against the Cubs, two against the Phillies, and one each against the Pirates and Cardinals.  Looking at the catchers on those teams wearing uniform numbers ending with the number nine, and cross-referencing that against the games in which Burdette scored runs, I think that's Roy Campanella (#101) making a cameo appearance here.  Campanella wore #39 with the Dodgers.  I believe this play is from the July 24, 1955 game and this photo shows Burdette scoring after Eddie Mathews (#107) and doubled off Don Newcombe (#235) in the second inning.

In the final cartoon panel on the back of the card, Topps uses "reliefer" to refer to Burdette's role before he entered the starting pitching rotation.  Topps reprinted this card for its 2002 Topps Archives set, with Burdette also signing versions of the reprinted card.

1956 Season
As mentioned above, this was one of Burdette's best seasons in the majors.  In 39 games, including 35 starts, he was 19-10 with a league-leading 2.70 ERA, 16 shoutouts and six complete games, which also led the league.  In 256 1/3 innings pitched, Burdette struck out 110.

Phillies Career
Burdette began the 1965 season with the Cubs, appearing in 7 games (3 starts) and going 0-2 with a 5.31 ERA.  On May 30, 1965 he was sold to the Phillies.  His struggles continued with the Phillies who used him sparingly throughout the season.  He made 12 starts with mostly disastrous results, going 3-5 with a 6.99 ERA over 55 1/3 innings pitched.  As a reliever, he fared better, pitching to a 3.03 ERA over 14 appearances and 35 2/3 innings pitched.  The lone bright spot came on August 31st during the second game of a double header against the Giants.  Burdette pitched a complete game shutout, limiting the Giants to six hits.  Without a clear role in the Phillies long-term plans, he was released on October 13th and signed a month and a half later with the Angels.  Burdette has no Phillies baseball cards to his name.

1952 Bowman #244
1955 Bowman #70
1957 Topps #208
1964 Topps #523
1967 Topps #265

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Bowman #244
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13):  1956-1967, 1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2011 Topps 60 Relics #T60R-LB

137 - Burdette non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/12/22.

 Sources:  
1965 Topps Blog
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