Dear Pat Burrell

Dear Pat Burrell,

Thank you.

Thank you for all you did for this city during your nine years on the ballclub. You came to us a decade ago as the No. 1 overall draft pick out of the University of Miami. You were the MVP of the College World Series as a freshman, and the first Phillie selected No. 1 overall in the draft ever.

We hoped you could do the same for this team as the legendary Mike Schmidt—dominate the league during your career, win a couple of MVPs, lead us to a World Championship, and maybe even end up in the same place as Schmidt—Cooperstown.

We remember your rookie season in 2000, in which you collected two hits, including a triple, in your first major league game. You hit 18 home runs that year, showing unlimited potential at the plate. You were a beast with the bases loaded, collecting eight hits and three grand slams in just 11 at-bats. We called you "Pat the Bat" and expected great things out of you.

You followed that up with a 27-homer, .258 season in '01, and under new manager Larry Bowa, we won 86 games and looked to be making strong progress as a team. It had been eight years since we had made the playoffs as we as a city were desperate for a title.

Across town, Donovan and those Eagles won their division and came just a game short of the Super Bowl. We were excited to be Philly fans, and were hoping for a couple of championship parades between the two of you over the next several years.

In 2002, when you finished seventh in the MVP voting, we were convinced you were the real deal. With Scott Rolen leaving for St. Louis in the middle of the season, you became our best power threat in the lineup.

We knew you would never win a Gold Glove in left field or lead the league in stolen bases, but we were proud of your strong arm and your patience at the plate. We admit that we grew frustrated when you struck out too many times.

But hey, Schmitty struck out a lot too, and so did Abreu. All the great power hitters—McGwire, Sosa, Thome, heck, even Babe Ruth—whiffed a lot. So we were willing to look past that. Ed Wade rewarded you with a six-year, $50 million contract after the season, and with our signing of slugger Jim Thome from the Indians, we had high hopes for both you and the team in '03.

But then you shocked us all. You hit just .209, with 21 homers—for the entire 2003 season. We booed you mercilessly, and you deserved it. You were supposed to hit 50 home runs—and what the heck was with this .209 garbage? Schmidt hit .196 for us that one year, but that was his rookie season, and he followed that up with three straight seasons of leading the league in home runs.

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