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Batout – An A.J. Burnett tribute
By Steve Kubitz
Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
- All Star Batman
A.J. Burnett has pretty much accomplished everything a baseball player can during his career. He pitched a no-hitter, lead the league in strikeouts and won two World Series titles. However one accolade eluded Burnett entering the final year of his career and that’s an All Star appearance. Despite pitching well for so long, Burnett had never been named to the All Star team. That finally changed in 2015.
Burnett was absolutely dominant in the first half of the 2015 season. He looked way better than anyone expected him to look. As the calender pushed through June, many Pirates fans were hoping to finally see Batman in an All Star uniform. Finally on July 11th, 2015, Burnett was officially named to the National League All Star Team. It was one of the coolest moments of the first half and something Batman truly deserved. Plus it only made sense that it happened with the Pirates. This team and city unconditionally love Burnett and it would have been wrong to see him make his first All Star appearance with anyone else.
Burnett completely owned the moment as he walked red carpets with his wife and two sons. They completely stole the show on several occasions, but the coolest was seeing A.J.’s sons interviewed on MLB Network’s Intentional Talk. The young boys’ killed it and made an already awesome moment, even more special.
Burnett never pitched in the game, but that really didn’t matter as just being on the team was truly the biggest honor. After 17 years, 3000+ strikeouts, a no-hitter and two World Series titles, A.J. Burnett was finally an All Star. No one deserved it more.
Next: The number One A.J. Moment