Congrats to 2004 BlueClaws outfielder Michael Bourn who picked up his first Gold Glove on Wednesday. Two Phillies, shortstop Jimmy Rollins and outfielder Shane Victorino, were also winners.

Bourn, originally a 4th round pick of the Phillies in 2003, was traded to Houston as part of the Brad Lidge deal in 2007. He debuted with the Phillies in 2006 and was with the Phillies in 2007 before the trade.

“It comes as no surprise,” Astros general manager Ed Wade told MLB.com. “It’s a tremendous honor for Michael and well-deserved. He makes center field seem awfully small when he’s out there, and I don’t think you really appreciate what he does defensively until you see somebody else out there and realize how big our ballpark and other ballparks are.

“He covers a tremendous amount of ground, is a great athlete and has great instincts and never takes anything for granted. We’re fortunate to have him, and I’m happy that his peers have recognized him for what I assume will be many Gold Gloves.”

Wade was the GM of the Phillies when they drafted Bourn out of the University of Houston in 2003. He was the GM of the Astros when they acquired him from the Phillies in 2007.

“He came with all the athleticism and instincts,” Wade said of his arrival in Philadelphia. “It’s tough to teach either one of those, if not impossible. He brings those things to the table, but there’s always been a great work ethic there. I think the time he spent Philadelphia paid a lot of dividends.”

Bourn hit .313 and stole 57 bases with the BlueClaws in 2004. The 57 stolen bases ranks third in franchise history behind Chris Roberson (59, 2003) and Anthony Gose (76, 2009).

Rollins won his third straight and Victorino his second straight Gold Glove.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 4:03 pm and is filed under General Baseball, Past BlueClaws, Phillies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.