SURPRISE, Ariz. — A year ago Tuesday, Jake Burger woke up asking for one thing, and one thing only: That his then-four-month-old daughter, Penelope, make it through open-heart surgery.
Flash forward a year and his ask was far more simple: A homer to mark the anniversary.
Consider him 2-for-2.
“When I woke up yesterday, I said, ‘It would be really cool if I hit a home run,’” Burger told The Dallas Morning News Wednesday, a day after launching a 434-foot homer to center field in the one extra at-bat he asked to take in an exhibition against Arizona. “It just kind of felt like fate when I hit it. What [his wife] Ashlyn, Penelope and our whole family has been through in the last year, it just felt like a full circle moment.
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“We’re really proud of Penelope for how strong she’s been and so grateful and lucky to be where we’re at with her. Because we know we easily could not be in this [fortunate] situation either. So being able to hit that homer on the anniversary was just really special.”
It was a good way to put one year to rest and to begin a new chapter. But there have been a number of milestones along the way for Penelope, who was born with Down Syndrome on Oct. 25, 2024, and the Burgers. Just consider the ensuing 12 months that included a trade to a new team with high expectations, Penelope’s surgery, a poor start, an unexpected demotion and three different stints on the IL with injuries. That 12-month period ended when the Burgers pulled off their first celebrity softball game in Nashville to benefit The Burger Family Foundation.
Not that Burger uses any of that as an “excuse” for a poor first season in Texas. He hit .236, took just 12 walks, hit only 16 homers and ended with a .687 OPS. There is no excuse for that, Burger has said. Then again, life isn’t an excuse. Life is real. And it was a lot.
But the softball game and Penelope’s birthday allowed him — and Ashlyn — to exhale and get centered once again. The last year has been a blur, but Penelope is healthy, walking, talking and laughing. All of it has naturally led to a stress-free start to spring for Burger.
Texas Rangers first baseman Jake Burger is pictured with daughter Penelope, 1, at a Dallas Stars game. Jake and Ashlyn Burger last year launched the Burger Family Foundation, whose mission statement says it endeavors to empower families with disabilities through direct support and transformative community programs.”
Courtesy/Ashlyn Burger
“Last [February], you are leaving camp a week in and going through a major life event as a parent and it’s one of those things you don’t have control over,” said Burger, who homered last February in his first at-bat after returning from the surgery. “You are trying to get your bearings. And you start asking yourself ‘what ifs?’ Like ‘what else can I do?’” You are with a new team, you have the surgery and you just don’t ever feel like you are in the flow of things. And in the past, I’ve always dived into my mechanics right away and that’s when things can start spiraling.
“This year, it’s different. I know these guys. I love these guys. And I just feel more comfortable in terms of surroundings, and I’m fully convicted in what I did this offseason and the trust we have in each other.”
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His own plan for the year focused heavily on pilates workouts in the offseason, and he became a dedicated student. In his words, he’s got conviction in what the practice can do to help his agility and reduce the possibility of soft tissue injuries. All three of his IL stints a year ago were for strains or sprains.
The other part of the plan is maintaining his trust in the process rather than chasing results. He worked on lowering his hands in his stance because, as he said, if they start too high, they tend to try to better sync up his timing and his bat path.
Manager Skip Schumaker, who had Burger in Miami for the second half of the 2023 season and all of 2024, is happy with where Burger is at the moment, but is also aware of his tendency to tinker and all the trouble that can cause.
“I think he wanted to get off on a really, really hot start last year,” Schumaker said. “Jake has been a little bit of a streaky hitter. When he’s hot, he can carry teams; when he’s not, it’s tough for him sometimes. But he’s trying whatever he can not to tinker and be the hitter he was a couple of years ago. I think he’s in a really good spot mentally and physically.
“For both him and Josh Jung, I just really want them to trust in the process. They’ve talked about it, and I want them to really live it out. It was an awesome work day the day before with Brandon [Nimmo] on the backfield. They took, like, hundreds of swings. Jake wanted one more at-bat yesterday and hit it like 145 miles per hour. That was great, obviously, because of the home run. I get it. That hit makes you sleep better at night. But I would have been really happy with the day, no matter what because of the work I’ve seen. I just don’t want guys to panic and chase results. If they continue with the work and what they are doing right now, they’ll be in a really good spot.”
Which will naturally lead to more homers. And not just on big anniversaries.
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