by the numbers

He played 18 years in the big leagues and hit .291. He had 2,107 hits, blasted 352 homers, drove in 1,206 runs and even stole 181 bases. Make no mistake, Vicksburg native Ellis Burks has numbers. He was on the Topps All-Rookie team in 1987, when he broke in with Boston, and was third in the National League MVP voting in 1996, when he hit .344 with 40 homers and 128 RBs for Colorado. He also made two All-Star Games. So he made an impression. Whether he made a Hall of Fame-worthy impression, well, we shall see. Burks is on the ballot, for the first time, for 2010. The new inductees will be announced on Jan. 6. It would be a big surprise if Burks got the necessary votes, but he might get more than a few. He’s the best candidate since Dave Parker (who’s still on the ballot himself) to become the first Mississippi native elected to Cooperstown. It’s unlikely Parker will make it this time either.