Colin Dunlap: Burnett Signing A Huge Message
A Major League Baseball player took less money to play in Pittsburgh.
Stop.
Think about that for a moment.
Take a breath.
Now think about that again.
A Major League Baseball player took less money to play in Pittsburgh.
If there's any other barometer that's a more accurate measure as to how far this franchise has come in a few years, I don't know it.
A.J. Burnett is on his way to Pittsburgh for an encore, as the 38-year-old right-hander will pitch one more season in a career that began in 1999.
The Pirates and Burnett agreed to terms on a one-year, $8.5 million deal Friday afternoon, and quickly thereafter Burnett confirmed this will be his last go-round on the mound.
"I've got one more [season] in me," Burnett said on a conference call. "There's no other place I'd rather be to finish my career."
Those weren't just words, either.
As they say, Burnett put his money where his mouth is --- that's the part that's the biggest part of this whole story.
You see, Burnett declined a player option to re-sign with the Philadelphia Phillies that would have paid him $12.75 million this coming season, leaving more than $4M on the table to head to this side of the state.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not going to make someone who has made $135M in their career some martyr for bypassing what amounts to scratch they might end up losing to Uncle Sam anyway. But, that said, there's a certain sense of decency in chasing true happiness in a vocation where seemingly everyone else chases every single penny.
Burnett, it appears for this final season, wants to chase true happiness --- good for him.
Can the Pirates expect the Burnett who won 18 games in Toronto in 2008 or even the Burnett who went 26-21 with a 3.41 ERA in his two seasons here in 2012 and 2013? Maybe, but probably not.
This is a weathered and gnarled righty with a lot of miles, but a guy more than worthy of taking an $8.5M risk on for the sake of filling a much-needed hole in the bullpen.
This is also --- before he decided to take less money --- someone people here in Pittsburgh rallied and united around, a guy with a take-no-guff temperament and give-me-the-damn-ball mindset.
That endeared him to Pirates fans before.
That will endear Burnett to the fanbase for this, his final season, too.
There are two sides to this, however. An undeniable, irrefutable truth is that while Burnett has many champions and pals in that Pirates clubhouse, there is also an undercurrent of players --- especially a few younger ones --- who aren't his biggest fans.
That isn't a guess; not speculation or conjecture. That was told to me, point blank, by a few guys in there when his name was bandied about at the trade deadline this past season.
But here's the thing: Perhaps Burnett saw what it was like to pitch for a Phillies team that sucked last season and while he will keep that same bulldog nature on the field, might understand he could tone it down a notch or two in the clubhouse.
And on the other side of it, perhaps the few souls on the Pirates who were apprehensive about bringing him back can get over it, can understand Burnett might take it a bit far with the rah-rah stuff sometimes but it's all rooted in an attempt to make his squad as successful as possible.
There was that much-publicized dustup Burnett had with manager Clint Hurdle when the former was told by the latter he wouldn't be starting Game 5 of the NLDS in 2013.
The topic was addressed when Burnett joined 93.7 The Fan on Friday.
"Some of the stuff we talked about, you laugh about now," Burnett said. "I don't think this would work unless we were both all-in. … I don't regret anything and I know Hurdle doesn't either."
The Pirates most-certainly shouldn't regret taking an $8.5M chance on a guy with Burnett's pedigree, even with his advanced age.
He might just have a lights-out season.
After all, stranger things have happened … like a Major League Baseball player taking less money to play in Pittsburgh.
Colin Dunlap is a featured columnist at CBSPittsburgh.com. He can also be heard weeknights from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sports Radio 93-7 "The Fan." You can e-mail him at colin.dunlap@cbsradio.com. Check out his bio here.
You May Also Be Interested In These Latest News Stories
Like The Fan On Facebook
Follow The Fan On Twitter
