Burriss back in hometown with new team and outlook

Emmanuel Burriss arrived early Thursday afternoon in the Phillies clubhouse at Nationals Park. He had spent the morning with his dad, Allen, in his U Street neighborhood in D.C.

"We were just driving around, talking, looking at the neighborhood,'' Burriss said. "Things have changed.''

Burriss is happy to see turf fields replacing the diamonds that he played on.

"Our fields had weeds, broken glass and rocks,'' Burriss says. "Kids aren't stupid. They don't want to play on those fields. I think the new fields will give them an opportunity to play baseball.''

Burriss, 31, a first-round draft pick of the Giants in 2006, is a Washington native who went to Woodrow Wilson High. As youth baseball grows in D.C., Burriss is the inspiration used by coaches across the city.

Burriss signed as a free agent with the Phillies in November, had an invite to spring training and turned the opportunity into his first big league opening day roster spot since 2012 with the Giants.

Burriss plays the infield and outfield. He's started three games, including a game when he batted leadoff. He's played left field, first and second base. But during his career, he's also played right field, third and shortstop.

Phillies manager Pete Mackanin needs Burriss' versatility. After having three big league at-bats with the 2015 Nationals - his only three since 2012 - Burriss is happy to be in the majors.

Injuries slowed his once promising career.

In 2010, he had two surgeries within nine months to fix a broken left foot. The recovery process led to problems with his hamstring, quadriceps and back.

"If I didn't love this game so much, I would have given up,'' he says.

Burriss' first big league season was with the Giants in 2008. He was known as a contact hitter with a steady glove and excellent speed.

He played in 95 games and averaged .283 with 13 stolen bases as a rookie and hit his only major league home run against the Reds' Bronson Arroyo in Cincinnati.

He grew up at a time when there was no Major League Baseball in Washington. His dad, involved in several businesses, including a trash collecting company, was a Senators fan and lived near Griffith Stadium, often saying that Mickey Mantle's legendary 565-foot home run there in 1953 actually landed in his yard.

Emmanuel grew up an Orioles fan, but when he heard that the Montreal Expos were relocating to Washington, he and his dad bought Nationals gear ASAP.

"I was an Orioles fan, but I'm such a hometown guy,'' Burriss says. "I'm a huge Redskins fan, Bullets, Wizards, whatever team. And once I saw the Nationals were coming to Washington, I was a fan.''

His dad, though, used the Orioles' Cal Ripken Jr.'s play as a teaching tool for young Emmanuel. Allen had a picture of Ripken fielding a grounder, eyes down watching the ball.

"My dad taught me a lot of things about baseball, but his big thing was keeping my eye on the ball, and he always showed me that picture of Cal Ripken with his head down,'' Burriss says.

Burriss saw the Nationals as a fan at RFK Stadium. He's never been to Nationals Park as a fan, but he was there for a history-making game June 5, 2009, the night that Giants lefty Randy Johnson earned his 300th career win in a 5-1 victory against the Nationals in a rainy atmosphere.

Burriss was the Giants' second baseman, and in the fifth inning, he made a diving stop of Ronnie Belliard's one-hopper up the middle, relaying the ball from his glove to shortstop Edgar Renteria at second to start a double play.

Burriss says it is good to be in Washington, but seeing friends and family can be exhausting. He says it is weird to be at Nationals Park as a visitor, especially being friends of former Nationals teammates.

"It's nice to be winning,'' Burriss says, referring to the Phillies wins in the first two games of the series.

As expected, the D.C. roots only go so deep.