With the exception of one glorious year in 1993, when he went 22-7 for the San Francisco Giants, Burkett was a middling starter, his career record hovering around the .500 mark. Having never met a pitch he didn't like, he knew the mechanics of the curve, slider, splitter, fastball, and changeup, and used them all with varying degrees of effectiveness.
After that terrific season in San Francisco, Burkett's ERA began to climb and finally peaked at 5.62 with the Texas Rangers in 1999. The Braves picked him up as a free agent in 2000 to fill in for the injured John Smoltz, and he managed a 10-6 record despite allowing the opposition to bat .303 against him.
Few gave Burkett much of a chance to beat out prospect Odalis Perez for the last spot in the Atlanta Braves rotation in 2001, but he was pressed into service when starters John Smoltz and Kevin Millwood went down with injuries. All the more stunning, then, was Burkett's first-half dominance. Under the tutelage of ace Greg Maddux, Burkett turned his arsenal of junk pitches into devastating weapons, holding the league a .230 batting average and a tiny 2.49 ERA, second in the league to Maddux himself.
Burkett's fine season earned him his second All-Star berth that July. Ironically, he replaced Maddux, who had begged out of the game to ostensibly spend time with his family, although it was rumored that Maddux bowed out of the game to allow his teammate to take the mound.
(EPW)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»April 19, 1994:
Expo OF Larry Walker throws out Giants P John Burkett at 1B on a ground ball into RF. Montreal goes on to defeat San Francisco, 4-3.
»December 22, 1994: The Giants trade P John Burkett to the Rangers in exchange for minor league 1B/OF Desi Wilson and SS Rich Aurilia.
»August 8, 1996:
The Rangers acquire P John Burkett (6–10) from the Marlins in exchange for P Ryan Dempster and a player to be named.
»October 1, 1996:
The Rangers top the Yankees, 6-2, in the 1st game of their American League Division Series. Juan Gonzalez and Dean Palmer homer to back the pitching of John Burkett. David Cone takes the loss.
»April 24, 1998:
John Burkett lasts just four 2/3 innings but gives up 11 earned runs—8 in the 2nd—to set a Rangers' club record for earned runs allowed.
»April 27, 2001:
The Braves defeat the Diamondbacks, 9-0, as Chipper Jones has his first career 5-hitter, including a 2B and home run. John Burkett fires a 3-hitter to win easily.
»October 12, 2001: Atlanta defeats Houston, 6-2, to sweep their Divisional Series and move into the NLCS for the 9th time in 10 seasons. Paul Bako, Julio Franco, and Chipper Jones hit home runs to back the solid pitching of starter John Burkett. The game is the Astros 14th loss in their last 16 postseason games.
»December 19, 2001: The Red Sox sign free agent P John Burkett to a 2-year contract.
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