Former Patriot collects two hits in his Major League debut
By Preston Williams
So how quickly did fortunes change last week for former George Mason University baseball player Justin Bour?
Well, last Monday, this is what the minor league first baseman had on his mind:
Come Wednesday, Bour’s tweets debating the merits of Mexican chain restaurants—as passionate of an issue as that can be—had been pre-empted by tweets of a greater magnitude: The Miami Marlins had promoted him to the major leagues.
Bour, whose parents and brother also are former George Mason athletes, started at designated hitter for the Marlins in their game at Tampa Bay on Thursday afternoon, batting seventh in the order. He had two hits in five at-bats and drove in a run in the Marlins’ 11-6 win. He became the fifth Mason baseball product to crack a major league lineup.
For his first major league hit, the 6-foot-4, 250-pound Bour reached on a softly hit ball to second base to load the bases in the fourth inning.
“I never thought my first [hit] was going to be an infield single. But I’m not complaining at all,” Bour told the Bradenton Herald after the game. “I’m just happy to be a part of a win.”
Bour hit a chopper to right field to drive in a run in the sixth inning Thursday. As a pinch hitter Friday afternoon against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, Bour drove in a run on a groundout during the Marlins’ three-run rally in the ninth in an eventual 5-3 loss in 13 innings. He did not play Saturday or Sunday.
The Cubs were the team that drafted Bour out of Mason in the 25th round in 2009.
“I’m excited for Justin but also for his entire family,” said Mason baseball coach Bill Brown, who attended high school with Bour’s father, Jim. “Justin has invested a lifetime in getting to the point of playing in the big leagues. It’s been the life goal of his ever since I’ve known the kid.”
Undrafted out of high school, Bour developed into one of the most productive players in Mason baseball history. He ranks first in putouts (1,273), is tied for second in career home runs (46) and is third in RBI (187), fourth in total bases (404), fifth in fielding percentage (.986), sixth in slugging percentage (.621) and 11th in batting average (.347).
“Even before he got here, the one thing that always jumped out about Justin was that he could hit,” Brown said. “He was a professional hitter who happened to be playing in college at the time.”
By coming to Mason, Justin Bour extended his family’s deep roots at the university. His older brother, Jason, BS Information Systems and Operations Management ’12, has the 12th-highest batting average in school history and was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 23rd round in 2007. His father, Jim Bour, BS Law Enforcement ’79, played volleyball here. His mother, Tracey Bour BSN ’81, played softball and volleyball.
The new Miami Marlin joins four other Mason products who reached the major leagues—pitcher Mike Draper (New York Mets in 1993), catcher Chris Widger (10-year career with six teams from 1995 to 2006), outfielder Mike Colangelo (three teams from 1999 to 2002) and pitcher Shawn Camp (five teams from 2004 to 2014 and currently with the Philadelphia Phillies’ Class AAA affiliate).
Bour this season had been dominant in the Class AAA Pacific Coast League with the New Orleans Zephyrs, batting .330 with nine homers, 20 doubles and 36 RBI in 55 games, including 15 hits in his last 38 at-bats.
At least one Mason player has been drafted by a major league team in eight of the past 10 years, and since 1978, 52 have been drafted or signed professional contracts. Having another former Patriot reach the majors is an accomplishment that the entire program can relish. Bour works out at Mason during the off-season, so many of the current players have followed his pro career.
“It’s great to have another kid who was not drafted out of high school, then came to Mason, and now through his college years and what he has done professionally has a chance to play in the big leagues,” said Brown, whose team won the Atlantic 10 Conference title this season and reached the NCAA tournament. “I think it reaffirms that we’re doing the right things with our guys when they come here.”