Jake Burger: Reconnecting w/Skip Schumaker, Rangers offense recovery

00:00:04
Speaker 1: Ranger slug or Jake Berger back on FT get to see a Todd father reuniting with my guy.

00:00:10
Speaker 2: Man, it's been a while.

00:00:13
Speaker 3: It's been a while, for sure.

00:00:14
Speaker 4: I remember when I first got drafted, like me and like dude, I was so jacked up.

00:00:21
Speaker 2: That was that was a good time. Hopefully I give you.

00:00:26
Speaker 5: Was that? Did you hit any dingers when you hit with Todd?

00:00:30
Speaker 4: I felt I felt like I did a pretty good job. I knew catch and stuff like. It was more about playing catch before we even started VP.

00:00:37
Speaker 2: That was sick.

00:00:40
Speaker 5: You both played catch together. Todd didn't remember that? Todd remember?

00:00:46
Speaker 2: Did I? If I didn't bring it up, that doesn't mean I don't remember. I remember I was hitting in the batting cage and he just got drafted, and you were nervous, but you were real nervous, and I said I could have. I said, listen, but you're gonna be just fine. Just take it day by day and you know, go out there and be you, and hopefully my wisdom helped a little bit. Man, just like one percent.

00:01:06
Speaker 3: It did, for sure, it did.

00:01:07
Speaker 1: For sure, good stuff, Jake, do you remember anything else from that encounter, like, did Todd give you any wise word.

00:01:15
Speaker 4: No, I remember, I remember Derek holland, uh, give me some crap saying I'm just another bonus baby here and all that.

00:01:23
Speaker 3: So that was that was fun. No, it was it was really cool.

00:01:27
Speaker 4: Like I got to talk to t A for a while on the field too, and so you know, like chatting with them and then playing with them, and it was just really cool to kind of have that that full circle moment. And then obviously Frage like looked up to him for countless years and so it was like sick to meet him for the first time.

00:01:48
Speaker 5: Wait, I know we're hitting this a little bit too long here, probably, but do you did you get to hit on the field? Did you get to hit in the turtle on the field?

00:01:56
Speaker 3: Yeah?

00:01:56
Speaker 5: Did you step in? Did you step in and worry about out swinging and missing?

00:02:02
Speaker 3: Oh one hundred?

00:02:04
Speaker 4: And then then I had to do the first pitch that night, and I'm like, I cannot blow this, and it's like first time on a big league.

00:02:12
Speaker 3: Field, like on the mound.

00:02:14
Speaker 4: I'm like, oh my god, like these fans are gonna hate me if I don't throw a bullet here.

00:02:18
Speaker 5: So which was tougher, which was more nervous hitting the first time because I saw a prospect, I saw a number one draft pick come in and swing at the first pitch and completely with it. And I'm not sure if you get it on purpose or not, but I think like they were both like I was nervous in both moments, like harder because the VP, like nobody was there. It was just like the team, uh like Rick Hahn, some of like the G like GM, the front office stuff was there. So it was like that was nerve wrecking because it was like all eyes on you and then all eyes on you from a fan perspective at the first pitch.

00:02:58
Speaker 3: So I think they both like terrifying.

00:03:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, no doubt about it. I want to I want to kind of jump in here a little bit. We know the injuries have happened to you. You know, I've had a couple down late in my career. How does that play a toll a little bit? Man? I know you're sitting there back, You're watching your team play, but when one happens another, it's like, oh man, here we go again kind of deal, like what what is your mindset? And how do you get yourself back in the right right place?

00:03:26
Speaker 3: Yeah?

00:03:26
Speaker 4: Yeah, this year was really weird. You know, I had oblique. I've kind of had oblique the last three years, just kind of a minor one. That's frustrating because I mean our sports rotational, and then a quad after that, and then a hand thing after that, so it's just like one after another. This year, it's just like it's just one of those years. Kind of write it off, get right for next year. The major one, like with the Achilles and twenty eighteen spring training and doing it again like two and a half months in that was that was probably the hardest because I'm missing full seasons of time and you're seeing your boys, like Gavin Sheets kind of like run up through the ranks, and you know, it's like, damn, I ever gonna get back to who I know I can be. And you're like you're really happy for your boys, but also jealous that they're playing baseball every day.

00:04:18
Speaker 5: All right, Baseball players they're weird. Like you get a haircut, You're like, ooh, I'm gonna go get like I'm gonna get two hits. You get two hits, You're like, oh man, I feel good. So little things like the new month passes over. How about this, how about the fact that I look at your Marlin's numbers and you had some decent numbers over there, Skip was your manager? Did he get you right? And does that make you feel like when I'm in the cage in the offseason, Skip's gonna be watching me. I love his high fives and he's got some really nice looking caves. Like I heard he's got a coot button, so that's I got them.

00:04:56
Speaker 3: But not no, no comment, but no, he's Uh, he's awesome, man. I love playing for him in Miami, and you know, he went.

00:05:05
Speaker 4: Over to the Rangers front office, and I think that was part of the reason why I came over to Texas.

00:05:11
Speaker 3: And him at the Helm is gonna be awesome.

00:05:14
Speaker 4: I know everybody in Miami loved playing for him as well, and I don't think that'll change in Texas. I love playing for Boach too. I mean it's uh, it's interesting, like i have like three hundred one hundred days plus or three years one hundred days plus of service time, and I've had four different managers, two of which Tony LaRussa and Bruce Bochi hall of famers, So that's been cool to kind of see their perspective and then, uh, you know, Skip obviously played for Tony and has his wisdom as well, and so it's just been it's been fascinating to see each manager and how how they interact with players and whatnot. But I'm I'm pumped for uh Skip this year and I think it's it's a really good high.

00:05:57
Speaker 2: No doubt about it. Great dude, Great dude. So we a fan question real quick from referee five eight three, Jake, which picture do you love facing and which one makes you say not today?

00:06:10
Speaker 3: I don't think any of them say not today.

00:06:12
Speaker 4: You know, I think you're going into it like this is uh, it's gonna be a grindy type day, but favorite picture to face. I feel like I have some good numbers against Severino. I think I have some good numbers against Kershaw. Those are probably the two I don't want to say, like yeah, just really enjoy seeing them. It's just I see the ball really well against I mean, Blake Snell's tough. I have like an infield single against them. I think that's really all I have. And then Rangers swore As. I think I'm old for eighteen against them with one strikeout, and it's just it's not even like loud contact outs it's like jam job, pop up to the shortstop, weak round ball to third bait, and it's just.

00:07:00
Speaker 3: Like so frustrating.

00:07:03
Speaker 5: So automatically, if the Rangers signed Ranger Suarez this offseason, your batting automatically goes.

00:07:09
Speaker 3: Up, takes takes it out of the equation.

00:07:12
Speaker 4: I mean the early camp days where we're doing some intersquad stuff I'm not gonna enjoy. But other than that, you know what it matters. It's uh, you take it out of the equation.

00:07:22
Speaker 5: You don't want to face Ranger on field three when you're trying to get yourself right for the season. One of the things, one of the things we heard was Rangers in twenty four really struggled with the four seam fastball. So they went out and got John Peterson absolutely waffles them, got Jake Berger absolutely waffles them. We didn't see that trend. Was there something that you feel like maybe it's the stadium? Did four seamers carry more in Texas? Did the ball not travel as far? So you didn't get because it was the toughest stadium to hit in in all of baseball this year? Like, was there is there something there that maybe needs to be second guests are questioned in the sense that, Okay, yes, it's tougher to hit four seam fastballs for us as a team.

00:08:07
Speaker 3: You know, I don't like making excuses.

00:08:10
Speaker 4: I'm sure the ballpark had some factors to it, but I think this year is just guys injured kind of frustrated with their performance in the first month, and then you start pressing a little bit and you start kind of lunging forward and not staying in your correct positions, you know. And so that's kind of how I viewed it for myself. Have a bad first month, got sent down for ten days for a little reset, came back up, played well, and then kind of went on that injury train there for a little bit, and you know, just never fe felt like I could get into a full groove where I'm doing what I do best, which is, you know, battling at the top of his own, crushing balls at the top of his own. So that that's my personal experience with that. You know, I think the ballpark played really weird sometimes, But you know, I don't don't really like to make excuses for myself. I think it's something to address over the off season and then get it right for next year.

00:09:11
Speaker 5: Tell us about the Lucky Classic, tell us about the well, I'm sorry, I'm sorry about the Burger the Burger Family Foundation what that because it was just on what day, Sunday?

00:09:21
Speaker 3: Sunday?

00:09:22
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, So Burger Family Foundation is our foundation, my wife and I's foundation, and our daughter was born with Down syndrome October twenty fifth of last year, and we wanted to use our platform for good. So we wanted to get back to the Downson Droom community because they embraced us when we got the diagnosis, and we thought the best way to kind of kick off a major event was have a celebrity softball game.

00:09:50
Speaker 3: We had a ton of big.

00:09:52
Speaker 4: Leaguers out there, a ton of X big leaguers out there, a ton of country stars, some social media presence stars, and and then my favorite part was the honorary celebrities, which were some adults with Down syndrome, some movie stars mixed in there too. So getting to see that come together, and my wife's a rockstar for basically planning the entire thing, and we're just so grateful for everybody showing up and everybody, all the sponsors kind of helping us out as well.

00:10:20
Speaker 5: Well, I mean, your wife must be famous. How on earth did you get that many? I mean, if we'd look at I'm just gonna read the list that I have here. Brent Rooker, Bryce Harper, jt Real Muto, Corey Seeger or Kyle Seger because it matters. Corey Okay, good okay, Bennie Pasquintino, Brandon Lal, Chris Bassett, Brian Reynolds. Like Deekman was there, Jake Diekman was even there. Like you had some you had How does she know all these people? You get traded and she makes friends?

00:10:53
Speaker 3: Yeah, she's got friends everywhere, you know.

00:10:55
Speaker 4: I just talked to the guys on the field that you know, she meets wife here and there and becomes really good friends with them, and it was just it was awesome, like absolutely floored by the presence there. Just having that many big leaguers there is just incredible. And a lot of them find in from out of town to Nashville. Obviously it's a destination city, but it's no easy feat to want to leave your couch at the end of the season and come out and do something like this, especially on a baseball field. So we're really grateful for everybody.

00:11:29
Speaker 5: Wait destination town Nashville. So are you Are you part of the bring Baseball to Nashville a group that that's getting together, because I think.

00:11:39
Speaker 4: There's I mean no, I feel like they're gonna it makes too much sense to bring a team here. I have no idea what the particulars and the details are of it, but you know, I think it's one of those cities that is constantly growing. I mean, you drive downtown, there's seventeen more cranes than they're worthy year before. So it's just growing non stop here. And uh, a lot of bauchelor bachelrette parties where people make a weekend out of it down here, So it'd be cool.

00:12:13
Speaker 2: I like that. That's a good list, you see.

00:12:15
Speaker 1: That's that place was really nice. Yeah, well, Jake, thanks for joining us, Man, of course, you know, it goes without saying. I think there are a lot of people out there, you know, touched by the foundation. So thanks what you do there and for what you put together, and to everyone else that participated, and thanks for stopping by, Man, good to see it. We'll catch you in spring training.

00:12:35
Speaker 3: Yeah sounds good. Thanks for having me us