"Birdy" Burdick was the Reds' 2nd-Round pick in the June, 1969 draft, out of Parker H.S. in Janesville, WI. (The back half of the 2nd round was pretty much a disaster, although the Cubs did tab Larry Gura two spots later.) An outfielder, he muddled along until he managed a .289/.346/.368 line at Tampa (A) and Trois-Rivieres (AA) in 1971. Thus earning an invite to training camp in 1972 with the big team.
Clearly, Burdick's plan was to intimidate with his massive eyebrows, but big league pitchers were not easily cowed. And the Big Red Machine wanted outfielders who could slug better than .368. So, after two more mediocre seasons without ever reaching AAA-ball, it was "Bye, Bye, Burdick!"
