St. Louis Cardinals prospect excited about opportunity, sharing the dugout with legends
Albert Pujols came to bat in the bottom of the second inning of Thursday’s series finale between the St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals with 695 home runs, one short of tying Alex Rodríguez for fourth all-time in Major League history.
Yadier Molina came to bat in the same inning having earlier tied the Major League record for starts by a pitcher-catcher battery, appearing for the 324th time to catch Adam Wainwright. He crushed a two-run home run to left field to celebrate the day in style, as befits his typical timing.
Between them was a four-pitch walk that represented the most anticipated plate appearance of Jason Burleson’s life.
Jason’s son, Alec, was called up Wednesday by the Cardinals and played right field Thursday in his debut. He drew that walk and scored just about exactly 24 hours after Ben Johnson, the manager of Triple-A Memphis, called him to let him know he had 45 minutes to get in a car and get on the road.
The younger Burleson, sitting in a restaurant by himself, canceled the breakfast order he’d put in and rushed to get on the road. Beef jerky from a gas station would have to suffice.
“I definitely wasn’t ready for it,” Alec Burleson said. “It was kind of one of those things where I just threw everything I saw in my room ... inside my big suitcase.”
The elder Burleson said he wasn’t sure if his son had quite grabbed everything in his haste. Despite Alec’s outstanding season at Memphis — he hit .331 with 20 home runs for the Redbirds — he wasn’t brought to the big leagues when rosters expanded Sept. 1. It instead took a left thumb sprain for Dylan Carlson for the right door to open.
“I tried not to think about it in a bad sense,” Burleson said of his wait to be called up. “I just wanted to keep doing what I was doing, and I knew it would come.”
Arriving Wednesday night about an hour before first pitch, the game might have found Burleson in the ninth inning as the Cardinals came roaring back with five runs in their half of the last inning to stun the Nationals. Manager Oliver Marmol, however, dismissed the possibility Burleson would’ve fit as option to pinch hit for Yadier Molina, and rather than warming up in the batting cage behind the dugout, he watched the wild rally with his new teammates.
From Charlotte to St. Louis
Across the street, having grabbed a seat on the first available flight from Charlotte, his dad balanced checking into a hotel room with the possibility that he might need to rush to the nearest gate to be in the building for that potential debut.
Instead, he took a comfortable (if warm) seat behind home plate for Thursday’s matinee, albeit with an empty seat to his left. Alec’s mother, a nurse, couldn’t find anyone to cover her hospital shift on short notice, so his dad made the trip alone.
The rest of the family is angling to make the seven-hour drive north to Pittsburgh for this weekend’s series against the Pirates.
That series won’t include a start by Wainwright, who is instead lined up to pitch Wednesday at Busch Stadium with every intent at breaking what might once have been thought to be an unbreakable record — alongside Molina — against the Milwaukee Brewers.
‘Not going to be any words to describe it’
With the Brewers sliding out of contention in the division and the Cardinals now freely discussing their desire to surpass the potential winner of the National League East for a first round bye, the time and space to enjoy and appreciate the frequency with which history has the potential to be made around this team this fall has opened up.
“I personally don’t think this record will get touched ever again,” Marmol said. “The longevity of both of their careers, to be good for that long, to stay together for that long, the loyalty to one organization, the probability of that is low.”
“It’s gonna be great to be able to share a dugout with those guys, share the field with them,” Burleson added. “Probably not going to be any words to describe it.”
More about Burleson
His arrival, as the 15th player to make a Major League debut for the Cardinals this season, is proof positive of the efficacy of a player development pipeline that’s refreshed its top levels with top level talent even throughout the limitations which marked the game’s pandemic seasons.
Burleson is the first player from the team’s 2020 draft class to reach the majors, but top prospects Jordan Walker and Masyn Winn are lurking. By the time they arrive, it’s entirely possible Burleson will have become — in an odd sense — the same kind of barely-a-veteran presence that’s passed down lessons and support as the promotion ladder has descended this season, again and again.
Presumably, by then, his packing will have become a bit more orderly.