Adopted: Dale Burdick

[A Boy Named Seo]

Getting back in the daddy game, yall.

I'm adopting the longest of shots, young Dale Burdick, the Mets final selection (40th round) of last year's draft ('14), #1195 overall.

He's a shortstop by trade (CALL HIM UP NOW!!!!) with a good shortstoppy build, stretched an even 6'0" tall, and weighing a proportionate 175 pounds. He's a fresh 19 years old, born in October of '95 when Mariah Carey ruled the Billboard charts on the back of this gem:

qq09UkPRdFY

I was too busy wearing flannel and shit, while clinging to the dying grunge movement, and thusly don't remember one note of that heavenly song.

Dale, or as his bros from Tennessee call him, Delllll, is from lovely Spring Hill, and played high school ball for the Summit Spartans, where he hit .325 with a .600 OBP and looked like the product of a men's room romance between Bryce Harper and the Crow (via Brandon Lee, RIP).



On June 14th, 2014, the Tennesseean wrote a story on Burdick being drafted, which included the interesting nugget that Toronto was about to take Dale 30 rounds earlier in the 10th, but Dale told the Blue Jays to "take off, eh", leaving him to think that he might have erred and would whiff completely on getting the call.

"I decided to pass on that and then I just thought, 'I just failed, I'm not going to get drafted,' " Burdick said. "Then the Mets drafted me in the last round, which I'm very thankful for and I started to realize the money is not what's going to get you to the majors. It's playing ability, your work ethic and everything around that. The money will come later. I'm just an 18-year-old kid and $150,000 is plenty for an 18-year-old kid."

Like that attitude, muh boy.


The Mets initially offered 100K, he was all, "whatever," then they finally agreed on 150K.

Dale was assigned to The Gulf Coast Mets where he shifted to 2nd base, wore the outrageous #77 like he's a left tackle for the Saints, and hit a rough .170/.336/.223 in 94 at bats. Here's his team photo, courtesy of minor league baseball/getty images:



Lookin' good, son.


Two of my main pre-req's were that he's Twitter active (check) and Facebook-friendly (check).

Hopefully he can DO THE IMPOSSIBLE and go from the Mets own Mr. Irrelevant to the effing show someday.

Dale, welcome A-burdick.

[Edgy MD]

Post o' the month, right there.

Way to sneak in and steal a talented, stupid, stupid kid, Mets.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Yeah, a 10th round pick is different lettuce altogether. Duda was a 10th round pick in 07. So act like a 10th, not a 40th is clearly the key to everything here.

Dale is apparently already hard at work on his game in the DR.



#dontforgetthebeans

[A Boy Named Seo]

My bro don't wanna be my FB friend. :'-(

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Keep after him. He's worth it.

[A Boy Named Seo]

I think he must've seen my high school vortex pic and freaked.

[A Boy Named Seo]

My boy got called up. Not out of the question to think that a last round, flier-pick could toil on the low rungs of the minor league ladder and just flame out, but after a rough debut (.560 OPS in 122 PA) last year for the GCL Mets, he went .256 / .412 / .436 (.848!) in 14 games this year and got bumped up to Kingsport.

It's been a bit of a slog there, too, but Dale gets on base, if nothing else - .133 / .333 / .133 in his first 9 games. 7 walks will help that OBP, and his career On Base % now sits at a respectable .354 in 212 total minor league at bats. If he starts smacking the ball a little, who knows?

Turns out he's got a little Crash Davis in him, too, which bodes well for all of us.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Checking in on my Mr. Irrelevant to see if he's been cut and now works at a Waffle House, but he's sticking around, and even had a cup of coffee at AA this year.



Not sure how, really. He had a .343 OPS in 64 PA at low A and then a .671 at high A before he got the jump to Binghamton where he went hitless in 6 ABs. Maybe they saw his OPS jumped over 300 points and were all, "HOLY SHIT!" but didn't see where it jumped from.

His career slash lines across 3 seasons now stand at .193/.311/.293 (.604 OPS) in 528 PA. He's hit 5 homers, stolen 11 bags, and struck out 142 times.



Must have a glove made of gold or saved Jeff Wilpon in Desert Storm. Some shit.

Cruising his twitter feed, it looks like he had a couple cool moments for Columbia, including a walk-off double in August and this pretty cool catch below:



Looks like he turns 21 in a coupla weeks, so HBD, kid. Hope you make some strides and can keep playing baseball for money for as long as you can. His twitter bio sez "Chasing a dream". Keep chasing, just not out of the strike zone.

[Edgy MD]

What's the name of the teammate who grabbed him as he was going down face first? Because the only Mariah song coming to my mind is "Hero."

[A Boy Named Seo]

Edgy MD wrote: What's the name of the teammate who grabbed him as he was going down face first? Because the only Mariah song coming to my mind is "Hero."

Good Q. Burdick was shortstop, so I'm guessing 3bman. Can't get a good look at his number, so I'll just celebrate the 2nd Mariah Carey nod in this thread and leave it be.

[A Boy Named Seo]

My boy Dale is in AA starting his 4th professional season and is, if nothing else, a model of consistency. His .136/.224/.295 line thus far is a little lighter, but in accordance with his .188/.304/.293 career line. I read an interview with him where he was proud of his ability to play all 4 infield positions and hopes that versatility will help him down the road. Gotta get off the interstate before you can move on to the next road, sonny boy. Best of luck.

But for real, dude must have some kinda glove, no?

[A Boy Named Seo]

Something weird keeps happening.

My adoptee keeps getting promoted despite numbers that would indicate promotion should be for other dudes.

He went .214 / .304 / .382 (.686 OPS) in 148 plate appearances with St. Lucie, which somehow got him promoted to AA Binghamton.

There, he went .227 / .322 / .347 (.669 OPS), in 87 plate appearances, which naturally got him promoted to AAA Vegas.

And at Vegas, he finished .182 / .308 / .364 (.671 OPS) in 13 scant plate appearances.

In 4 seasons, my dude, the 40th (last) round pick of the 2014 draft, #1195 overall, has defied all odds and climbed to the top rungs of the minor league professional baseball ladder with this career line:

.201 / .311 / .318 (.629 OPS).

He has played every infield position this year (but mostly second base). Like, I wanna put a change.org petition together to get this guy called up to Queens for an inning of defensive replacement work.

I make shitty jokes about your OPS, Dale, but you're almost there, dude. Keep going.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Amazing Avenue just previewed the '18 St. Lucie Mets and they mentioned my boy Dale, and I thought they were straight trippin' when they mentioned he'd be in the infield mix after he started last year in St. Lucie and jumped to Binghamton and then Vegas.

But, alas, there his name appears on the St. Lucie Mets roster page.

[A Boy Named Seo]

First update of '18 and even though poor Dale is back at high A at the age of 22, his his OPS this season is ~150 points higher this year than his career OPS. He is scorching St. Lucie opponents to a .240./345/.440 clip. That's great for him! Keep it going, sonny boy!

[Edgy MD]

Ended a three-game hitless mini-slump by going 3-3 with a triple last night.

[A Boy Named Seo]

ON FIRE.

He has appearances and first and second, but has mostly played third. He came up as a shortstop, so he's clearly versatile. Hope he gets a cup of coffee one day.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Dale Burdick is the very best thing.

As previously reported, he started this season as a 22-year old in high A-ball. True to form, Dale //////CRUSHED\\\\\\ to the tune of .175/.282/.272 (.554 OPS) in 131 PAs and was naturally promoted to AAA where he is currently oh-for-eight.

Since being drafted with the Mets final pick (40th round) of the 2014 draft (#1195 overall!), he's managed to play 5 season of professional baseball, amassing almost one thousand plate appearances, and his current career batting line is: .196/.308/.309 (.617 OPS).

Since his offensive numbers don't scream it, I can only assume he must be A) one hell of a defender super versatile C) a great teammate or D) all of the above. I truly hope he gets a cup of coffee in the show one day to reward his perseverance, if nothing else.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Dale Burdick just completed his fifth season of professional baseball. He hit a Burdickian .170/.284/.284 (.568 OPS) in 205 PA at St. Lucie before going hitless in Vegas, putting up this uniquely awesome line at AAA: .000/.429/.000 (.429 OPS).

He finished 11 PA shy of 1,000 for his professional career. His career batting line is now: .193/.306/.309 (.615).

I don't know what the future holds for my dude. He turns 23 in October, a youngin' by any standard except single-A professional baseball prospect. Not sure what the team could reasonably expect from him at AA, but I hope he gets another shot next year, or just Crash Davises another year at St. Lucie. Something. Go, Dale, Go.

[A Boy Named Seo]

5 seasons of professional baseball for Dale Burdick. Cut today by the Mets. Maybe he plays indie ball somewhere? Maybe he gets a real job like the rest of us stiffs. Either way, bravo, young man.

[smg58]

I imagine the hardest part of any minor league coach/exec's job is telling somebody like Burdick that he's done.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Yeah with the season this far over, I wonder if he found out in-person, or if he got a phone call? Imagine the one thing you've been working at since you were probably 5 years old now gone. Good luck to you, Dale! Go be the best slow-pitch softball player in the entire state of Tennessee!

[A Boy Named Seo]

I can't quit Dale. Checked his Twitter yesterday to see if any hints of more pro baseball in his future, but it looks like for now he's just enjoying the end of his little brother's esteemed, Al Bundy-like football career. I'll keep one good eye on Dale, just in case.