James Eugene Burke (born September 24, 1971) is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

. He attended

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

, where, along with baseball, he played for the school's football team as the kicker.

Professional career

Minor League journeyman, 1993 to 2003

Burke was originally drafted by the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

in the ninth round of the amateur draft. He appeared in nine games for the Angels during the 2001 season. Burke was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

on January 27, .

Chicago White Sox

Burke played 73 games in the Major Leagues for the White Sox from 2003–.

Texas Rangers, return to the minors

The Texas Rangers signed Burke to a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

deal near the end of the 2005 season. He did not appear in an MLB game during the season.

A chance with the Mariners

As a non-roster invitee in the Mariners' camp during

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

, he beat out incumbent

René Rivera René Rivera (born July 31, 1983) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Los Ange ...

for the backup catcher job going into Opening Day. On September 30, 2007, on the last day of the regular season, Burke hit his first career

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

against A. J. Murray of the Texas Rangers. On July 6, , Burke was pressed into service on the pitcher's mound in the 15th inning of a game against

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

when the Mariners ran out of pitchers; he was credited with the loss. Burke allowed one hit and a run. The run scored after a lead off

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third st ...

, and

sacrifice fly In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

. Burke had previously made four pitching appearances in the minor leagues. Following the 2008 season, Burke was non-tendered by the Mariners, making him a free agent. He was re-signed by the Mariners to a minor league contract on December 23, saying this about the situation,

The best gift would have been a major-league deal, but I'm pretty happy about this. This is a place I wanted to be. It's a situation I like and one that I think could work out very well.

Burke was added to the active roster on April 16, 2009, following an injury to starting catcher Kenji Johjima. When Johjima returned from the disabled list on May 1, Burke was outrighted back to Tacoma; after clearing waivers, he accepted the assignment. On June 7, Burke was recalled up from Tacoma after the Mariners designated pitcher Denny Stark for assignment. In a winning effort, Burke went 2-5 with a home run and a base hit. On June 26, Johjima was activated from the disabled list. To make room for Johjima on the 25-man roster, the Mariners designated Burke for assignment. Seattle assigned him to Tacoma.

Washington Nationals

On September 17, Burke was traded to the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

for cash considerations, and was added to the Nats' active roster as a September call-up. The following year, his knee was injured, and he did not play his first game at the Nationals' AAA affiliate Syracuse until May 25. But after injuries to starter

Iván Rodríguez Iván Rodríguez Torres (born November 27, 1971), nicknamed "Pudge" and "I-Rod", is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Ran ...

and backup catcher Carlos Maldonado, he was called up on June 4, and got into his first game two days later. However, four days later, Burke was designated for assignment after making only one appearance to make way for Rodríguez, who was recalled from his rehab assignment in the minors.

Coaching career

Burke retired after the 2010 season and became the manager of the Class A

Cedar Rapids Kernels The Cedar Rapids Kernels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium (Cedar Rapids), Veter ...

. Burke was named manager of the Class A Burlington Bees in 2013.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Jamie 1971 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Anaheim Angels players Chicago White Sox players Seattle Mariners players Washington Nationals players 21st-century American sportsmen Major League Baseball catchers Baseball players from Oregon Oregon State Beavers baseball players Sportspeople from Roseburg, Oregon Boise Hawks players Cedar Rapids Kernels players Lake Elsinore Storm players Midland Angels players Vancouver Canadians players Edmonton Trappers players Salt Lake Stingers players Charlotte Knights players Oklahoma RedHawks players Tacoma Rainiers players Syracuse Chiefs players Minor league baseball managers