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A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION
21-169
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
February 2, 2016
To recognize and honor the achievements of Emmanuel Burriss, the first baseball player from a District of Columbia public school to be drafted by a Major League Baseball team since 1981.
WHEREAS, Emmanuel Burriss is a native of Washington D.C. and attended Takoma Elementary School, St. Ann’s Academy Middle School, and Woodrow Wilson High School, where he was a model student and excelled in both academics and athletics;
WHEREAS, as a shortstop on the Wilson High School baseball team, Emmanuel Burriss was instrumental in helping the team win the citywide championship for 3 consecutive years;
WHEREAS, while attending Wilson High School, Emmanuel Burriss was the recipient of the 2001 Baseball MVP Award and the 2002-2003 Gatorade DC Player of the Year Award;
WHEREAS, in 2002, because of his excellence in academics, leadership, and service, Emmanuel Burriss received the Andre Wallace Award for Most Outstanding Wilson Athlete Scholar for Baseball and Basketball;
WHEREAS, in 2003, Emmanuel Burriss was the recipient of the Outstanding Male Athlete Award; and was offered a full scholarship to play shortstop and second base at Kent State University, a Division I team in Kent, Ohio;
WHEREAS, while at Kent State University, Emmanuel Burriss helped lead the baseball team to the Division Championship 2 years in a row, receiving the Mid-American Conference (MAC) title;
WHEREAS, in 2005, Emmanuel Burriss was invited to play in the Cape Cod Baseball League as shortstop with the Orleans Cardinals, and was the recipient of the 2005 Cape Cod All Star Award, the Orleans Cardinals Single Season MVP Award, the Single Season Record Award for 37 stolen bases, and the Cape Cod 2005 East Division All Star Award with the Orleans Cardinals;
WHEREAS, in 2006, while in his junior year at Kent State University, Emmanuel Burris was drafted by the San Francisco Giants and became the first baseball player from a District of Columbia public school to be drafted by a Major League Baseball team since Willie Royster in 1981; both preceded by the legendary Maury Wills;
WHEREAS, Emmanuel Burriss made his Major League Baseball debut on April 20, 2008 with the San Francisco Giants and played in 282 games;
WHEREAS, the San Francisco Giants won the World Series in 2010 and 2012, while Emmanuel Burriss played shortstop for the team;
WHEREAS, in 2012, Emmanuel Burriss signed a minor league baseball deal with the Cincinnati Reds;
WHEREAS, in October of 2013, Emmanuel Burriss was inducted into the Kent State University Hall of Fame;
WHEREAS, in 2013, Emmanuel Burriss signed a minor league baseball deal with his hometown team, the Washington Nationals, and started games in the summer of 2015 at Nationals Park on the Major League Baseball roster;
WHEREAS, in 2015, after 2 years with the Washington Nationals, Emmanuel Burriss joined the Philadelphia Phillies; and
WHEREAS, with a .245 career batting average and being a switch-hitter throughout his career, Emmanuel Burriss has remained a role model for young baseball players in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited as the “Emmanuel Burriss Recognition Resolution of 2016”.
Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia recognizes and honors the achievements of Emmanuel Burriss, the first baseball player from a District of Columbia public school to be drafted by a Major League Baseball team since 1981.
Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon the first date of publication in the District of Columbia Register.
