When Jake Burger was traded away from the White Sox he never issued a statement about his former team. On Friday he finally broke the silence, posting a nearly ten-minute video in which he thanked White Sox fans for their support during his six years with the organization.
Burger was drafted in the first round, gutted through multiple lengthy rehab stints, and made his MLB debut in the White Sox organization. Typically when players are traded from teams they issue some form of thank you on social media to the organization and fans of the team they are leaving. Before departing to Miami, Burger never mentioned anything about the only organization he had ever known.
The silence didn’t bother White Sox fans in the slightest, the majority of whom still rooted for Burger in Miami as he helped the Marlins secure the final NL Wildcard spot.
Burger finally returned the favor and explained his silence.
“When I first got traded, I didn’t post a thank you to Chicago, to the organization to the fans just because I was heading into Miami and we were in a Wild Card race and I didn’t want to think about anything else,” Burger said during the video
Burger went on to say, “This is a thank you to all the Chicago fans who stuck with me. It was my home for parts of the last three seasons and it was my only home in terms of organization until I got traded. I spent six and a half years in the organization so to all the people that made that possible I want to say thank you.”
Burger was unable to play baseball for three seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an Achilles tear, and a bruised left heel. Despite the setback was still able to overcome the adversity and show the world why he was drafted in the first round. This season Burger hit a career-high 34 home runs and 80 RBIs with an .828 OPS.
“It was obviously a crazy journey through the organization, Burger said. “The fans stuck with me, the front office stuck with and I just want to thank you all for that. Even my friends that are still in Chicago, thank you for being you and I’m so honored to have gotten to meet you guys, play with you guys and learn the game with you guys because it’s one of those games that you are always constantly thinking about and you’re always working on your craft.”
Burger began the video by thanking his wife Ashlyn and son as well as Marlins fans for embracing him when he arrived. You can listen to the full clip here.
