'This doesn't feel like real life': CBC grad Jake Burger homers twice for Miami in Busch Stadium debut
In his first game at the ballpark he grew up going to as a kid, Marlins third baseman Jake Burger belted two home runs with family and friends in attendance. Jake Burger, a former CBC grad, hit two home runs twice for Miami against the Cardinals in his debut at Busch Stadium, marking his fourth multi-homer game of his career. The home runs were his first of the young season and were against Cardinals starter Lance Lynn, who he grew up watching as a fan. The game marked Burger's debut at the stadium where he watched as a child. His sister, Ellie Burger, described it as a "dream come true" as a special occasion for him and his former teammates, Skip Schumaker and Jon Jay, who were part of the Cardinals' 2011 World Series-winning team. Burger's path to the professional baseball began in 2017 with the White Sox, but he missed the next two MiLB seasons due to injuries and a canceled minor league season in 2020 due to a coronavirus pandemic.
प्रकाशित : 4 सप्ताह पहले द्वारा daniel guerrero, Daniel Guerrero में Sports
In the first game he played at the ballpark in which he grew up watching games, Burger connected on two home runs off Cardinals starter Lance Lynn in the Marlins’ 8-5 loss to the Cardinals. The pair of homers were his first of the young season and gave him the fourth multi-homer game of his career.
“It's just surreal,” Mike, 59, said after the game from the field at Busch Stadium as family and friends in attendance took photos with the Marlins third baseman. “You couldn't write this script. The first time he's ever played here and the fact it's opening day on top of being here the first time, and then to do what he did — a dream come true. I'll be pinching myself for a while.”
The first of Burger’s two blasts came in the fourth inning and traveled 403 feet to left-center field to give the Marlins their first run of the afternoon. An inning later, the right-handed hitter sent Lynn’s 1-0 fastball to Big Mac Land in left field — “right where” he sat during Game 6 of the 2011 World Series when David Freese’s walk-off home run forced a Game 7 the Cardinals would go on to win.
“It was just the most special day ever growing up coming to the ballpark here in St. Louis,” Ellie Burger, Jake’s sister, said from the field Thursday. “Especially growing up, whenever the Cardinals were the team in baseball, Busch was special. Having it just work out where not only is Jake coming to St. Louis but also on opening day here — I mean it's a national holiday I feel like in St. Louis.
“That on top of two home runs here, one into Big Mac Land (and) the double meaning (of it). Obviously, the Burgers but also that's a marker of the power of home runs and the power hitters, I guess you could say, in baseball being able to hit up there. It was just all around just incredible.”
“Growing up watching so many balls go in there, it was always a goal of mine," he said. "I'm just so grateful and thankful for all the support through the years. It's just really cool to be able to go out there and produce like I did.”
Burger calls Skip Schumaker and Jon Jay, both members of the Cardinals' 2011 World Series-winning team, his manager and his first base coach, respectively. The Cardinals' pregame festivities for the home opener in St. Louis gave him an up-close look at the Budweiser Clydesdales and of Hall of Fame third baseman Scott Rolen, whom Burger “idolized growing up” and was able to tip his hat to during the pregame ceremonies. The home runs — both against Lynn — came against someone Burger not only sees as a former teammate during their time with the White Sox together but also as a mentor and someone he cheered on as a fan.
The path through the pros for the CBC grad began in 2017, when the White Sox selected him with the 11th overall pick in that year’s draft. He played in 51 minor league games that year but missed the next two MiLB seasons after tearing his left Achilles tendon twice in a 10-week span in 2018. He, like all minor league players, lost the entire minor league season in 2020 as it was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“He had his debut. He had his first home run. ... All of that is superspecial, but then you add this, it kind of felt like a debut all over again," Ellie, 25, said. "Seeing the behind the scenes of what he went through with injuries and the mental health and all that, so for him, (it’s) full circle to come around and have another moment like this was just incredible. I think there's just so much praise to go around with him as a person through the obstacles that he's had.
“But then being able to celebrate with my parents. They've done so much work as well with the sacrifices they've made. The countless pitches my dad has thrown to him. The support my mom has given him. I feel like, as a whole, it's kind of like we made the appearance at the plate as a whole family.”
विषय: MLB