Boston College Athletics
Photo by: Reagan Lunn
Burns Backstopping BC With Grit, Love Of The Game
March 11, 2021 | Baseball, #ForBoston Files
Ever talk to a catcher about baseball? It can go forever.
In the bottom of the first inning of Sunday's game at Auburn, Boston College catcher Peter Burns surrendered a stolen base. Long before Birdball's miracle comeback or Sal Frelick's game-tying home run, miles away from Luke Gold's dugout-exploding shot to left, Ryan Bliss swiped second base in a scoreless inning.Â
It didn't sit well with Burns, but the stalwart backstop patiently waited for another opportunity. It came one inning later, after Cam Hill's two-run homer to right. It delivered the Tigers a 2-1 lead at the time, and after Joe Vetrano walked Brody Moore, head coach Mike Gambino summoned Alex Stiegler from the bullpen. It was a typical move given Vetrano's reliever status as an opener, but Stiegler entered a game with BC's back to its wall.Â
Auburn saw an early opportunity when it chased Vetrano and subsequently stayed aggressive against Stiegler. With Josh Hall at the dish, it sent Moore from first to second to get another runner in scoring position. The runner broke perfectly and glanced back at the plate. It possibly indicated a hit-and-run situation, but Moore's sprint was in perfect stride down to second.
Burns heard the call from the dugout and stepped to his left as the pitch crossed the outside plate. He fluidly stood and pivoted towards second, and his strike down to Brian Dempsey hit a dime as the shortstop glided over to the bag. Dempsey reached the base long before Moore, a quick runner, ever got close to a slide. He flailed to avoid the tag, but he was out by a mile, pegged dead to rights by a defensive wizard behind the dish.
It stopped the second inning in its tracks and retrospectively offered an early look at the grit and hustle behind BC's late-game rally against a national powerhouse. This week, the national college baseball universe took note when it nominated Burns to the Buster Posey Catcher of the Year Watch List for a second consecutive season.
"I try to catch as many guys as I can throughout the fall and winter because every guy is different," Burns said. "Every guy needs different cues or different locations in order to execute whatever they want to throw. For me, it's all about learning every guy because they're so different. I want to know what they like and where they want me to set up to be successful. It really comes down to knowing each (pitcher) and just doing whatever I can to help them win the game and be successful."
Burns embodies the team-first mentality of the BC program, but is an all-around player capable of sparking the team on both ends of the dish. His four runners caught stealing are tied with three other catchers for the team lead, but he is one of only two within that quartet - the other being Louisville's Henry Davis - with a perfect fielding percentage. His percentage is skewed by one off-game where Duke stole five bags against him, but removing the outlier performance leaves him with a 4-for-10, .400 percentage right behind Davis' .500 mark.
He's done that while picking timely slots for big hits. He crushed Charleston Southern for three hits and four RBI in the first weekend of the season before knocking in runners in both wins against Duke. His average temporarily dipped following the first game at Auburn this past weekend, but he went 1-for-2 before subbing out in the blowout loss to pull it back above the proverbial Mendoza Line. Still, his early-season outburst had him well over .250 through the first half of the games currently played, and his situational grasp puts him in spots to both get on base and push runners across.
He drew a walk against Duke to put Dante Baldelli at the plate with one out and two on, to which Baldelli responded with an RBI single through the left side. Later in that game, he singled with two outs to score Jack Cunningham to give BC a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning, enabling the Eagles to push the game into a weather suspension before they claimed victory the next day.
Two days later, he grounded to first, but he legged out a possible double play ball and turned it into a fielder's choice. Luke Gold scored on the play to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. It was after he stole his first career base against Charleston Southern.
"We give all the credit to our hitting coach, John Murphy," Burns said. "He's done such a great job with getting us prepared for the season and being available at all times. He throws (batting practice) and talks to us about our swings. Going into our weekend, he does a great job going over scouting reports to talk to us about our approach at the plate. We stick to that approach and listen to him, and with our execution, it's awesome."
His numbers compare to Davis, who BC sees this weekend as the No. 26 overall prospect in the MLB Top 100, but Burns remains a diamond in the rough as a Massachusetts kid and despite his championship pedigree. He hit over .400 for Austin Prep High School and was named a Catholic Central League All Star for four years in high school, and the two-time league MVP led the Cougars to a state championship in 2018.Â
A two-time Boston Herald and Boston Globe All-Scholastic pick, he was named to the Rawlings/Perfect All-New England First Team and was an All-America Honorable Mention as a senior, all while winning league championships on the hockey rink as a freshman and sophomore.
"I'm a big reaction guy," Burns said. "When stuff happens during the game, the first instinct is what I'm doing. That's what the coaches always preach, that we want to make the hard plays with quick decisions and that we don't want to think about it because that's when we start to question ourselves. I study the guys that are hitting and how guys want to get on base for little cues.
"I'll get a group of numbers or touches (for my sign card)," he added, "and it's pretty much like a mix and match. If it's a sign, I can find it on my card. There's probably about 100 different signs on there, and for me personally, I'm just taking the game one pitch at a time because who knows what can happen on the plays ahead. I'm never going to let the last play react on the next play."
It's an attitude that earned Burns universal respect and, this year, one of the highest honors in the Boston College baseball program. He shelved his normal No. 18 jersey this year in favor of BC's coveted No. 8 when he won the Sonny Nictakis Award at this year's virtual Baseball Night. Named for the two-time BC captain who passed away in 2000 after a fight against Hodgkin's disease, the number symbolizes the teamwork, determination and dedication of Nictakis and embodies the spirit of BC baseball.
Nictakis was a former BC catcher and a teammate of head coach Mike Gambino, but Burns became just the second catcher to earn the honor after Matt Pare.
"It is truly an honor and truly, really special," Burns said. "I think there are so many guys on this team that could have won that number, but to be able to wear it, it's just super special. I never got to meet Sonny, but everything I ever heard about him is how he was a great leader and a guy who came to work every day. He battled through some really hard stuff that I can't even imagine, but I know he showed up to the field every day with a smile on his face, ready to compete. So for me, this number is about who I am, and I just show up to the field to work hard and be a fun guy to play with while being a good leader."
Boston College is off to its highest in-season ranking in program history, and the No. 13 Eagles head to Louisville this weekend to play the Cardinals at Jim Patterson Stadium. All three games can be seen on the ACC Network Extra online streaming package with Friday's game starting at 6 p.m. and both Saturday and Sunday starting at 1 p.m.
It didn't sit well with Burns, but the stalwart backstop patiently waited for another opportunity. It came one inning later, after Cam Hill's two-run homer to right. It delivered the Tigers a 2-1 lead at the time, and after Joe Vetrano walked Brody Moore, head coach Mike Gambino summoned Alex Stiegler from the bullpen. It was a typical move given Vetrano's reliever status as an opener, but Stiegler entered a game with BC's back to its wall.Â
Auburn saw an early opportunity when it chased Vetrano and subsequently stayed aggressive against Stiegler. With Josh Hall at the dish, it sent Moore from first to second to get another runner in scoring position. The runner broke perfectly and glanced back at the plate. It possibly indicated a hit-and-run situation, but Moore's sprint was in perfect stride down to second.
Burns heard the call from the dugout and stepped to his left as the pitch crossed the outside plate. He fluidly stood and pivoted towards second, and his strike down to Brian Dempsey hit a dime as the shortstop glided over to the bag. Dempsey reached the base long before Moore, a quick runner, ever got close to a slide. He flailed to avoid the tag, but he was out by a mile, pegged dead to rights by a defensive wizard behind the dish.
It stopped the second inning in its tracks and retrospectively offered an early look at the grit and hustle behind BC's late-game rally against a national powerhouse. This week, the national college baseball universe took note when it nominated Burns to the Buster Posey Catcher of the Year Watch List for a second consecutive season.
"I try to catch as many guys as I can throughout the fall and winter because every guy is different," Burns said. "Every guy needs different cues or different locations in order to execute whatever they want to throw. For me, it's all about learning every guy because they're so different. I want to know what they like and where they want me to set up to be successful. It really comes down to knowing each (pitcher) and just doing whatever I can to help them win the game and be successful."
Burns embodies the team-first mentality of the BC program, but is an all-around player capable of sparking the team on both ends of the dish. His four runners caught stealing are tied with three other catchers for the team lead, but he is one of only two within that quartet - the other being Louisville's Henry Davis - with a perfect fielding percentage. His percentage is skewed by one off-game where Duke stole five bags against him, but removing the outlier performance leaves him with a 4-for-10, .400 percentage right behind Davis' .500 mark.
He's done that while picking timely slots for big hits. He crushed Charleston Southern for three hits and four RBI in the first weekend of the season before knocking in runners in both wins against Duke. His average temporarily dipped following the first game at Auburn this past weekend, but he went 1-for-2 before subbing out in the blowout loss to pull it back above the proverbial Mendoza Line. Still, his early-season outburst had him well over .250 through the first half of the games currently played, and his situational grasp puts him in spots to both get on base and push runners across.
He drew a walk against Duke to put Dante Baldelli at the plate with one out and two on, to which Baldelli responded with an RBI single through the left side. Later in that game, he singled with two outs to score Jack Cunningham to give BC a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning, enabling the Eagles to push the game into a weather suspension before they claimed victory the next day.
Two days later, he grounded to first, but he legged out a possible double play ball and turned it into a fielder's choice. Luke Gold scored on the play to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. It was after he stole his first career base against Charleston Southern.
"We give all the credit to our hitting coach, John Murphy," Burns said. "He's done such a great job with getting us prepared for the season and being available at all times. He throws (batting practice) and talks to us about our swings. Going into our weekend, he does a great job going over scouting reports to talk to us about our approach at the plate. We stick to that approach and listen to him, and with our execution, it's awesome."
His numbers compare to Davis, who BC sees this weekend as the No. 26 overall prospect in the MLB Top 100, but Burns remains a diamond in the rough as a Massachusetts kid and despite his championship pedigree. He hit over .400 for Austin Prep High School and was named a Catholic Central League All Star for four years in high school, and the two-time league MVP led the Cougars to a state championship in 2018.Â
A two-time Boston Herald and Boston Globe All-Scholastic pick, he was named to the Rawlings/Perfect All-New England First Team and was an All-America Honorable Mention as a senior, all while winning league championships on the hockey rink as a freshman and sophomore.
"I'm a big reaction guy," Burns said. "When stuff happens during the game, the first instinct is what I'm doing. That's what the coaches always preach, that we want to make the hard plays with quick decisions and that we don't want to think about it because that's when we start to question ourselves. I study the guys that are hitting and how guys want to get on base for little cues.
"I'll get a group of numbers or touches (for my sign card)," he added, "and it's pretty much like a mix and match. If it's a sign, I can find it on my card. There's probably about 100 different signs on there, and for me personally, I'm just taking the game one pitch at a time because who knows what can happen on the plays ahead. I'm never going to let the last play react on the next play."
It's an attitude that earned Burns universal respect and, this year, one of the highest honors in the Boston College baseball program. He shelved his normal No. 18 jersey this year in favor of BC's coveted No. 8 when he won the Sonny Nictakis Award at this year's virtual Baseball Night. Named for the two-time BC captain who passed away in 2000 after a fight against Hodgkin's disease, the number symbolizes the teamwork, determination and dedication of Nictakis and embodies the spirit of BC baseball.
Nictakis was a former BC catcher and a teammate of head coach Mike Gambino, but Burns became just the second catcher to earn the honor after Matt Pare.
"It is truly an honor and truly, really special," Burns said. "I think there are so many guys on this team that could have won that number, but to be able to wear it, it's just super special. I never got to meet Sonny, but everything I ever heard about him is how he was a great leader and a guy who came to work every day. He battled through some really hard stuff that I can't even imagine, but I know he showed up to the field every day with a smile on his face, ready to compete. So for me, this number is about who I am, and I just show up to the field to work hard and be a fun guy to play with while being a good leader."
Boston College is off to its highest in-season ranking in program history, and the No. 13 Eagles head to Louisville this weekend to play the Cardinals at Jim Patterson Stadium. All three games can be seen on the ACC Network Extra online streaming package with Friday's game starting at 6 p.m. and both Saturday and Sunday starting at 1 p.m.
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