http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/highschool/features/263482.html

Tampa's Michael Burgess heeds grandfatherly advice in attempt to shake
stereotype


By Matt Meyers
March 12, 2007


For the modern athlete, it's a good indication that you've arrived on the map
when footage of your high school games makes its way onto YouTube. So when
highlights of slugger Michael Burgess' early March showdown with crosstown
flamethrower Nevin Griffith began popping up on the popular Website, it was
further evidence that Burgess has people buzzing.

Though just a few games into his senior season at Tampa's Hillsborough High,
the 18-year-old's power exploits are already legendary. Those who have
followed his career anxiously retell the account of his blast last year in
the Florida 5-A playoffs, when Burgess joined Ken Griffey Jr., Bo Jackson and
Frank Thomas as the only players to clear the 60-foot high wall in center
field at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota. He added to his aura in the home run
derby at the Aflac All-American Classic when he delivered a pair of
tape-measure blasts that wound up on the roof of a building adjacent to Tony
Gwynn Stadium in San Diego--with a cracked bat, no less.

"My bat was already cracked (entering the contest), but it was my favorite
wood bat so I just taped it and kept hitting with it," Burgess said.

Thanks to memorable moments like those as well as a stellar amateur career at
Hillsborough High and with his summer travel team, the Midland (Ohio)
Redskins, Burgess distinguished himself as the best power prospect in the
2007 draft class entering his senior season.

Honorary Influence

Burgess' status was a long time in the making, and began at the age of 5 when
his grandfather pushed him toward baseball for a very practical reason.

"I wanted him to play something where he would not be getting a major
injury," said Michael's paternal grandfather, Sylvester Burgess. "And that is
why we were always scared of football because of major injuries that can come
from playing football."

Burgess, at a compact 6 feet, 200 pounds, looks better suited for shoulder
pads than stirrups and he eventually convinced his grandfather to let him try
football. But it became clear quickly that his future was on the diamond.

"When he was 6 we saw it because every time you tried to teach him something
he already knew it," Sylvester said.

Michael's parents never married, and though he lives with his mother and
still sees his father frequently, his grandfather has been the biggest
influence in his baseball career. Sylvester retired from his job at an
aluminum manufacturing plant six years ago and devoted much of his time to
Michael and his burgeoning baseball career. When discussing Michael's
exploits with scouts and coaches, there is always reference to the influence
his grandfather has on his life.

"His grandfather is a great guy; I think he definitely keeps him humble,"
Hillsborough High coach Kenny White said. "When you have a guy with that much
talent to also be pretty humble, it is a great combination. I think his
grandfather definitely has a lot of influence in that."

For the typical teen, grandparents are the antithesis of hip, but that is of
no matter to Michael.

"Me and my Granddad, it's not quite like having a girlfriend but he is the
most important person in my life besides my mom," Michael said.

His grandfather attends every one of Burgess' practices and games. He is part
mentor, coach, cheerleader and chauffeur, escorting "Mike," as he refers to
him, wherever he needs to go. The only thing that has made him miss some of
Michael's games is his fear of flying.

"I was hoping it was going to be (a team) somewhere close (that drafts him)
so I can catch a lot of games," said Sylvester, 65. "I'm a Dodgers fan but I
don't want the Dodgers to pick him because that is too far."

Hillsborough History

Come June, Michael is poised to join a litany of Hillsborough High alums that
have had their names called early on draft day. The illustrious list counts
seven first-rounders (including Gary Sheffield, Dwight Gooden and Carl
Everett) as well as 1982 second-rounder Floyd Youmans and 2003 third-rounder
Elijah Dukes.

While all those names made their names for performance on the field, they
have all had misadventures off the field that undermined their talent.
Michael doesn't appear to be in any danger of repeating their missteps and
has even received personal advice from Gooden, Sheffield, Everett and Youmans
about avoiding the wrong path. Nonetheless, a team that is considering
spending seven figures on him has to at least consider the track record of
the school's alumni. This is where the area scouts ability to familiarize
himself with a player is paramount.

"Like any other kid, if you're going to take him in the first five rounds you
have to do your homework, and you have to do the right homework," said a
scout with an American League club who also scouted Everett, Sheffield and
Dukes during their amateur days in Tampa. "Every kid is an individual case
and you can't say this guy is going to be great because a great player went
there, and you can't say he's going to be a problem because another guy from
this school was a problem."

A month into his senior season, scouts were more concerned with Burgess'
hitting mechanics than his makeup. A player that torched the summer wood bat
tournament and showcase circuit in 2006 hasn't looked as fluid at the plate
this spring. He's widened and closed his stance, perhaps in an effort to
cover more of the plate, but the adjustments have limited his leverage and
left him with a hole on the inner half.

Of course, because Burgess' reputation precedes him, he hasn't had to worry
about too many pitches on the inside corner--or anywhere close to the plate
lately. Coach White has been batting the preseason All-American in the
leadoff spot to try to force teams to pitch to him, but in Hillsborough's
first three games, Burgess was walked to lead off every game.

"It's hard," White said. "You've got scouts out there and he wants to hit but
you have to throw to him. He has been pretty patient for the most part. It
would be pretty easy to try and go out of your zone and try and do something
with a pitch you really can't handle.

"But I think as the year goes on they will settle down and start throwing to
him."

Of course, thanks to YouTube, all of the world got to see Burgess' matchup
with Griffith, whose Middleton High handled Burgess and Hillsborough 6-1 in a
game that was attended by more than 40 scouts and televised locally. Burgess
saw plenty to hit that night, and went home disappointed following a single
in four at-bats.

But it isn't difficult to envision his grandfather encouraging him on the way
home from the ballpark, which also made it no surprise Michael was back, hard
at work, the next day.