Jamie Burke
Washington Nationals — No. 32
Catcher
Born: September 24, 1971 (1971-09-24) (age 38) Roseburg, Oregon
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 9, 2001 for the Anaheim Angels
Career statistics (through 2008 season)
Batting average	.301
Home runs	2
Runs batted in	37
Teams
Anaheim Angels (2001) Chicago White Sox (2003–2005) Seattle Mariners (2007–2009) Washington Nationals (2009)

James Eugene Burke (born September 24, 1971 in Roseburg, Oregon) is a Major League Baseball catcher for the Washington Nationals organization. He attended Oregon State University, where along with baseball he also played for the school's football team playing the position of kicker.

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Minor League Journeyman, 1993 to 2003

Burke was originally drafted by the California Angels in the 9th round of the 1993 amateur draft. He was signed as a free agent by the Chicago White Sox on January 27, 2003.

[edit] Chicago White Sox

He played 73 games in the Major Leagues for the White Sox from 2003–2005.

[edit] Texas Rangers, return to the minors

The Texas Rangers signed him to a minor league deal near the end of the 2005 season. He did not appear in an MLB game during the 2006 season.

[edit] A chance with the Mariners

As a non-roster invitee in the Mariners' camp during spring training 2007, he beat out incumbent René Rivera 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 against A. J. Murray of the Texas Rangers.

Burke behind the plate for the Mariners against the San Diego Padres

On July 6, 2008, Burke was pressed into service on the pitcher's mound in the 15th inning of a game against Detroit when the Mariners ran out of pitchers, as a result he was credited with the loss. However, Burke still pitched well, giving up only one hit and a run. The run scored after a lead off double, wild pitch, and sacrifice fly. Burke had previously made four pitching appearances in the minor leagues.^[1]

Following the 2008 season, Burke was non-tendered by the Mariners, making him a free agent.^[2] He was re-signed by the Mariners to a minor league contract on December 23,^[3] 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."^[4]

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.^[5]

On June 7, he was again called up from Triple A Tacoma after the Mariners designated pitcher Denny Stark for assignment. Burke went 2-5, with a Home Run, and a base hit, in a winning effort.

On June 26, Kenji Johjima was activated from the disabled list. To make room for Johjima on the 25-man roster, the Mariners designated Jamie Burke for assignment. Seattle assigned him to Tacoma and he accepted his assignment.

[edit] Washington Nationals

On September 17, 2009 Burke was traded to the Washington Nationals for cash considerations, Burke was added to the Nats active roster as a September call-up.^[6][7]

He resigned with Washington during the week of November 18th-23rd, 2009 for the 2010 season.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube