Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

Pat Burrell returned home with a battered reputation when he joined the San Francisco Giants in early June 2010.

Once a feared slugger and one of the top run producers in the National League, Burrell had been summarily dumped by the Tampa Bay Rays, who got a tiny return (a .218 batting average) on their $16 million investment in him and didn't care for his sour attitude.

A change of scenery clearly did wonders for Burrell, who attended high school in San Jose and was reunited on the Giants with old buddies Aubrey Huff and Aaron Rowand.

Burrell, who announced Monday he was retiring at 35 because of a chronic foot injury, teamed up with then-rookie Buster Posey to energize the Giants' sluggish offense, helping them clinch the NL West title and win their first World Series since moving to the West Coast in 1958.

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