MLB Player Jake Burger Speaks at Belmont

Jake Burger speaks with Jake Layman at event

Jake Burger, like many baseball players, has some odd habits and rituals to perform better. 

He once showered with his uniform on. 

He always puts his left sock on first and thinks he will have a bad game if he doesn’t. 

And he chews the same piece of gum for an entire nine-inning game if he’s playing well, all in an attempt to be better at what he referred to as a kid’s game. 

The Texas Rangers’ first baseman shared these superstitions at Belmont on Monday, along with stories about his baseball career, his love for Nashville, his personal struggles and his efforts to help his one-year-old daughter, Penelope, with Down syndrome. 

Burger, a St. Louis native, moved to Nashville in 2018, and has spent his offseasons in the city each year since. 

“I love the vibe down here,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of transplants—for better or worse—but I think that creates a different sense of community. It’s not like ‘Who’s this outsider coming to town?’ It’s more like ‘Oh, I know these mutual people there,’ and I think creates a better sense of community.” 

He held a charity event in November called The Lucky Classic, which brought together baseball players, musicians and other celebrities to play a baseball game at First Horizon Park to raise support and awareness for families with a child with Down syndrome. 

“We really wanted to create an event that country music stars and baseball players got together for, obviously, the cause of Down syndrome, which is near and dear to my heart.” 

Before his major league career, Burger played his college ball at Missouri State, where he won both Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year and later Conference Player of the Year. Although Belmont wasn’t in the MVC at the time, Burger recalled playing against the Bruins in nonconference play. 

“I remember playing at Rose Park… I kind of had a bad game because it’s so windy, but I remember thinking, ‘Wow, this is a baseball field here.’” 

One unfortunate constant in Burger’s career is his injury history, most recently a rare wrist injury which he underwent surgery for this offseason. 

“You were drafted eleventh overall in the Major League Baseball draft, a dream come true,” said Steve Layman, a News Channel 5 reporter and Belmont men’s basketball play-by-play commentator, who moderated the event. “But what happened next is probably not a dream because you tore your Achilles, which puts me in pain just saying out loud. I can’t imagine going through it, but here you are. It’s impressive.” 

Burger explained his Achilles injury led to him being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and he nearly quit baseball during 2020 when Covid-19 stopped all Minor League Baseball play. Still, he fought through the struggles and is now entering his sixth season in the majors. 

“It’s kind of an ego punch in a sense,” he said. “Adversity happens in any sport and any part of life… you don’t dwell on it, and you just keep pushing forward. Keep pushing forward, keep having a positive outlook and treating people with respect and kindness.” 

The conversation, though mostly baseball-oriented, appealed to students without interest in baseball because of the universal themes. 

“I’m actually not that into baseball, but it was a really cool event,” said Dillon Massey, a Belmont student. “I thought the questions were really well rounded for both professional and personal.”

Jake Burger stays after the event to talk to attendees one-on-one. Photo taken by Nick Rampe.

This article was written by Nick Rampe