03-24-2024 MLB Preview - Flipbook - Page 4
MLB ’24
Sunday, March 24, 2024 4
SEASON PREVIEW COVER STORY
ORIOLES
Building the perfect pitcher
By Jacob Calvin Meyer
N
o one knew Corbin Burnes was going to become one of the best pitchers on the planet when they first saw him play. “No way,” his high
school coach said. “I wouldn’t have taken that bet,” one of his college
summer coaches said. A decade before he won the National League
Cy Young Award, Burnes was an undersized second baseman playing high school
baseball in California. He posted a 6.18 ERA as a freshman at a small Division I
school. He earned his spot in the Cape Cod Baseball League by happenstance.
His first attempt at being a big league starter was disastrous. Burnes was never
destined to be an ace. That fact is why he became one.
Orioles pitcher Corbin Burnes, right, transformed himself from an undersized second
baseman in high school to one of baseball’s best pitchers. KENNETH K. LAM/STAFF PHOTOS
The 29-year-old joins the Orioles this
season with sky-high expectations of headlining Baltimore’s rotation as the young
ballclub looks to become World Series
contenders, hoping the right arm of Burnes
can lead the way to the promised land.
The Orioles’ blockbuster trade to acquire
Burnes from the Milwaukee Brewers was
one of the most significant offseason moves
in franchise history. An ace atop the rotation was Baltimore’s biggest need — a
luxury the club hasn’t enjoyed since Mike
Mussina at the turn of the century.
Later this month, when Burnes takes the
mound at Camden Yards on opening day
for the first time in an Orioles uniform, he
will have with him the lessons and trials
that shaped him into an ace. The coaches
who witnessed that transformation believe
he will be that and more for the Orioles in
2024.
“He’s just a winner,” his college coach
said. “He has that leadership, that drive,
that determination. It’s not a coincidence
that wherever he goes, they win.”
Humble beginnings
Burnes, left, and Dean Kremer take part in a spring training practice last month.
When Burnes went to Division I Saint
Mary’s College of California, his high
school coach, Randy Roberts, would text
him after every start — a tradition the
70-year-old still maintains.
At first, he would text Burnes pointers
or reminders like any good coach would.
Then, as Burnes advanced to a level far past
Centennial High School in Bakersfield,
California, Roberts just sent encouraging
words to his former player: “Keep it up,” or
“Great job,” or “You really stuck it to ‘em.”
Still to this day, Burnes always responds
to his high school coach whom he hasn’t
played for in more than a decade — sometimes within minutes of walking off the
mound. Roberts isn’t the only one. Kelly
Nicholson, the pitcher’s manager for one
summer in the Cape Cod League, remains
in touch with Burnes, who never fails to
respond when the 64-year-old reaches out.
“He doesn’t look at himself that way,”
Nicholson said, noting how Burnes is busy
and famous enough to get away with not
responding to simple text messages. “He’s
so respectful. He’s super humble.”
As a high school sophomore, Burnes
made the varsity team as a middle infielder,
not a pitcher. He wasn’t in Roberts’ opening day lineup, but he started the next day,
went 3-for-4 with several highlight defensive plays and never looked back.
“He was a little second baseman, and
when I say little, I mean little,” Roberts
said. “But I couldn’t pull him out of the
lineup after that. He grabbed it and stayed
in there.”
After missing most of his junior season
with an injury, Burnes didn’t begin pitching in earnest until his senior year. As he
grew and gained velocity, it became clear
that Division I scouts were coming to see
his lively arm on the mound more than his
swing at the plate or glove at shortstop.
The realization, Roberts said, that
Burnes’ future was on the mound and not
in the batter’s box was difficult for him.
“It broke his heart,” he said. “But it
turned out to be something great for him.”
In a way, that conversation feels like a
Turn to Burnes, Page 5