David Allen Burba (born July 7, 1966)[1] is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, and Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1990 to 2004. In his 15-year MLB career, Burba's record was 115–87, with 1,398 strikeouts, and a 4.49 ERA. He is currently the pitching coach for the Arizona Complex League Athletics. His uncle was former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher, Ray Hathaway.
| Dave Burba | |
|---|---|
 Burba in 1988 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: July 7, 1966 Dayton, Ohio, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 8, 1990, for the Seattle Mariners | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 19, 2004, for the San Francisco Giants | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 115–87 |
| Earned run average | 4.49 |
| Strikeouts | 1,398 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
Career
editOn December 11, 1991, Burba was traded by the Seattle Mariners with Mike Jackson and Bill Swift to the San Francisco Giants for Kevin Mitchell, Mike Remlinger, and minor league prospect Joshua Knox.
His finest season with San Francisco was in 1993. He was 10–3 and posted a 4.23 ERA.
On July 21, 1995, he was traded by the San Francisco Giants with Darren Lewis and Mark Portugal to the Cincinnati Reds for Ricky Pickett, John Roper, Deion Sanders, Scott Service, and David McCarty.
In 1996, Burba was 11–13 and posted an ERA of 3.83. He also hit two home runs as a batter. The next year, he went 11–10, but his ERA rose to 4.73. By the 1998 season, his pitching repertoire included the fastball, splitter, slider, curveball, and changeup.[2]
Burba was tabbed as the Reds' opening day starting pitcher in 1998. The day before the season started, however, the Reds traded him to the Cleveland Indians for prospect Sean Casey.[3] Burba went 15–10 in 1998, 15–9 in 1999, and 16–6 in 2000. He battled injuries throughout the 2001 season, and went 10–10 with an ERA of 6.21. That off-season, Burba followed General Manager John Hart to the Texas Rangers. He was later placed on waivers and ended up back in Cleveland to finish the season. Burba then signed a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers.
On September 2, 2004, he was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers to the San Francisco Giants for minor leaguer Josh Habel. Burba's final major-league game was on September 19, 2004.[4]
After filing for free agency from the Giants on October 29, 2004, Burba signed a minor league contract with the Houston Astros on March 29, 2005. He spent the entire season in the minor leagues. He signed a minor league contract with the Mariners on January 27, 2006, but was released on March 24, 2006.[5]
Coaching career
editBurba became pitching coach of the Tri-City Dust Devils for the 2011 season, the class-A team of the Colorado Rockies. He was also the pitching coach for the Modesto Nuts, Hartford Yard Goats, and Lancaster JetHawks, in the Rockies farm system. He is currently the pitching coach for the Rockies High Single-A affiliate Boise Hawks in the Northwest League.[6][7]
References
edit- ^ "Team EGM Talks with the Giants' Reliever Dave 'Big Burb' Burba". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 73. Sendai Publishing. August 1995. pp. 108, 110.
- ^ James, Bill; Neyer, Rob (June 15, 2004). The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers: An Historical Compendium of Pitching, Pitchers, and Pitches. Simon and Schuster. p. 150. ISBN 9780743261586. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
- ^ "Indians Get Burba From Reds". Chicago Tribune. March 31, 1998. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ "Dave Burba Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "TRANSACTIONS". Hartford Courant. March 25, 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
- ^ "Boise Hawks, Colorado Rockies announce 2020 field staff". Idaho News. CBS 2 News. January 29, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
- ^ Bournival, Brad (August 10, 2016). "Former Indians hurler Dave Burba now sharing his knowledge as pitching coach with Yard Goats". Akron Beacon-Journal. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
External links
edit- Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Retrosheet
- The Baseball Gauge
- Venezuela Winter League