Allan James Burnett. When the Yankees salary dumped him to the Pirates in 2012, he was another washed-up has been the Pirates love to get on the cheap. Coming off two straight 5+ ERA seasons and a reputation as a jackass and young phenom who never met expectations, I didn’t have much hope. All he did was resurrect his game with more off speed stuff under the tutelage of Sarge and became a staff mentor to guys like Gerrit Cole, and helped the Pirates to the first winning season in 21 years and into the NLCS in 2013. An FA in 2014, he left, shocking us all, turned his back on a city that loved him (and he loved back) to go to a shitty Phils team. He returned in 15 helping the Bucs back to the playoffs and getting that All-Star nod. Then, he retired as the tank emptied and he couldn’t work deep in games. Then nothing. Burnett, the tattooed bad boy favorite disappeared until…he threw out the first pitch in the 2023 home opener and the place went bonkers (almost as crazy as Cutch’s first at bat). I think Burnett returning, humbly, back to the Pirates was the maturation of young man’s crazy career and the regret he expressed was why he didn’t mature earlier. Don’t we all want that?
“The opposite of humility isn’t confidence, but insecurity. And the opposite of confidence isn’t humility, but arrogance. It takes confidence to be humble; an arrogant person, meanwhile, is almost always insecure.”
This right here Sam, is a true golden nugget. Thank you
Fun little note from Zimmerman's wiki, he of the three seasons in the majors:
On January 18, 2006 Lone Star Ball, a Texas Rangers blog, named Zimmerman 46 on "The 50 Greatest Rangers of All Time" list.[3]
We love those what-could-have-been stories. The Rangers have been a franchise for more than 60 years, and in Texas for more than 50; putting him on the top 50 of all time list means he's basically the story of the year for that franchise for at least one year, right? That's really something for a guy who only pitched three years. Without knowing anything about the Rangers in that period, I'd guess there was perhaps a period of doldrums between Juan Gonzalez and Alex Rodriguez.
Also, he pitched against his brother, Jordan Zimmerman. No, not Jordan Zimmermann. Different guy!
In general, I'd rather have a good thing happen earlier than later. Delayed gratification is a little overrated. Life is short!
Also, if you're not an All Star until your last year, you kinda get dogged for not being an All Star in every other year leading up to it. Like John Elway, ended his career with two Super Bowl wins. Awesome. But for his first 14 season he was labeled choker loser, to an extent.
Footnote 2 is an all-timer
Allan James Burnett. When the Yankees salary dumped him to the Pirates in 2012, he was another washed-up has been the Pirates love to get on the cheap. Coming off two straight 5+ ERA seasons and a reputation as a jackass and young phenom who never met expectations, I didn’t have much hope. All he did was resurrect his game with more off speed stuff under the tutelage of Sarge and became a staff mentor to guys like Gerrit Cole, and helped the Pirates to the first winning season in 21 years and into the NLCS in 2013. An FA in 2014, he left, shocking us all, turned his back on a city that loved him (and he loved back) to go to a shitty Phils team. He returned in 15 helping the Bucs back to the playoffs and getting that All-Star nod. Then, he retired as the tank emptied and he couldn’t work deep in games. Then nothing. Burnett, the tattooed bad boy favorite disappeared until…he threw out the first pitch in the 2023 home opener and the place went bonkers (almost as crazy as Cutch’s first at bat). I think Burnett returning, humbly, back to the Pirates was the maturation of young man’s crazy career and the regret he expressed was why he didn’t mature earlier. Don’t we all want that?
One of my favorite posts of the last year!
Expanding this question, would you rather have a great start or end to your career? Fred Lynn or Dwight Evans?
Has anyone only been an all-star in only their first and last seasons?
“The opposite of humility isn’t confidence, but insecurity. And the opposite of confidence isn’t humility, but arrogance. It takes confidence to be humble; an arrogant person, meanwhile, is almost always insecure.”
This right here Sam, is a true golden nugget. Thank you
Fun little note from Zimmerman's wiki, he of the three seasons in the majors:
On January 18, 2006 Lone Star Ball, a Texas Rangers blog, named Zimmerman 46 on "The 50 Greatest Rangers of All Time" list.[3]
We love those what-could-have-been stories. The Rangers have been a franchise for more than 60 years, and in Texas for more than 50; putting him on the top 50 of all time list means he's basically the story of the year for that franchise for at least one year, right? That's really something for a guy who only pitched three years. Without knowing anything about the Rangers in that period, I'd guess there was perhaps a period of doldrums between Juan Gonzalez and Alex Rodriguez.
Also, he pitched against his brother, Jordan Zimmerman. No, not Jordan Zimmermann. Different guy!
In general, I'd rather have a good thing happen earlier than later. Delayed gratification is a little overrated. Life is short!
Also, if you're not an All Star until your last year, you kinda get dogged for not being an All Star in every other year leading up to it. Like John Elway, ended his career with two Super Bowl wins. Awesome. But for his first 14 season he was labeled choker loser, to an extent.
The best a man can get.