John Burkett

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6+1⁄3 innings. He was given the nickname "Sheets" during his days with the Atlanta Braves because of his betting and organizing pools for games in the clubhouse.

The 38-year old Burkett retired following the 2003 season after going 25–17 over two seasons with the Boston Red Sox. His final appearance was in Game 6 of the 2003 American League Championship Series, and his time in a major league uniform ended when Aaron Boone hit a famous walk-off home run the next day.

Although a weak hitter at the plate, batting just .093 (50-for-540) with only 18 RBI, Burkett was above average defensively. He recorded a .982 fielding percentage with only 9 errors in 500 total chances in 2,648.1 innings pitched. His career fielding percentage was 26 points higher than the league average at his position.

Pitching style

Burkett was a control pitcher who posted strikeout rates below the major league average. His fastball topped out at just 90 MPH, but he had an effective curveball and changeup. He allowed walks and home runs at a rate below major league averages, and his career ground ball-fly ball ratio of 0.83 was slightly better than the major league average during that time of 0.78. [2]

Professional bowling

Burkett is also a part-time professional bowler, and has 32 perfect games to his credit. He cashed in several PBA Tour events during his baseball days, and joined the PBA50 Tour (formerly PBA Senior Tour) in 2015. His best finish in the 2015 season was fourth at PBA50 Northern California Classic. His 2016 campaign was cut short when he had right ankle surgery. 2017 PBA50 season top finishes were 11th in PBA50 National Championship, 24th at the Senior US Open, 11th at Dave Small's Championship Lanes Classic, and 9th at the DeHayes Insurance Group Championship. [3] On August 18, 2019, Burkett won a PBA Regional Tour event at the PBA Houston Emerald Bowl Southwest Challenge in Houston, Texas, which was his first PBA title of any kind. [4]

On July 28, 2022, Burkett won his first national PBA50 Tour championship at the PBA50 South Shore Classic held at Olympia Lanes in Hammond, Indiana. Qualifying as the #3 seed, he defeated PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III in his first match, then went on to knock off USBC Hall of Famer Lennie Boresch Jr. and three-time PBA Tour titlist Eugene McCune to earn the title. [5]

Burkett has stated he always felt he was a better bowler than a baseball player, but after being drafted to play professional baseball, he decided to take that path first. [5]

Personal

He has three children: Avery, Maxwell and Reid.

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References

  1. ↑ "San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres Box Score, September 4, 1990". Baseball-Reference.com.
  2. ↑ "John Burkett PitchFX at fangraphs.com". fangraphs.com. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  3. ↑ Suncoast PBA Senior U.S. Open Tournaments – Full Standings. PBA.com. Retrieved on May 27, 2016.
  4. ↑ Vint, Bill (August 23, 2019). "PBA Spare Shots: Former MLB All-Star John Burkett Wins First PBA Title in Houston Regional Event". PBA.com. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  5. 1 2 Winters, Jill (July 28, 2022). "JOHN BURKETT STRIKES HIS WAY TO FIRST PBA50 TITLE". PBA.com. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
John Burkett
Pitcher
Born: (1964-11-28) November 28, 1964 (age 59)
New Brighton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 15, 1987, for the San Francisco Giants
Last MLB appearance
September 26, 2003, for the Boston Red Sox
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