On Tuesday night, Pat Burrell threw out the first pitch for the Giants against the Phillies (the game is currently still live -- follow it here), slinging a high fastball (or something) to his former college and Giants teammate Aubrey Huff.
Obviously, Pat the Bat isn't the type of guy to one-hop a first pitch. But, surprisingly, he was the type of guy to get emotional about his time with the Giants in an interview on CSN Bay Area's "Chronicle Live" with Jim Kozimor.
Burrell got choked up talking about his final game with the Giants, when third-base coach Tim Flannery gave him a patch that the 2007 Phillies team Burrell was on wore in honor of John Vukovich.
As we've noted, Burrell will retire as a member of the Phillies. But he's going to stay on with the Giants in the role as a scout and, quite clearly, he relishes the time he spent in San Francisco.
Burrell talked to CSN Bay Area's Amy Gutierrez before the game about his role with the Giants as a scout (watch the full video here).
"Basically this thing started because I called and said I'd like to help out," Burrell said. "I think I can do some good with the players in the organization based on my experience as a player. And he was very open to it and we talked about what I could do.
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"I've always looked at the game as a player, but it's interesting to get on the other side. There's a lot more that goes on than what we see out here every day."
