Good Old PA Work Ethic Helps John Burkett Suceed.
Former MLB Pitcher, Now Competing On PBA 50 Tour
By Michael 'Chip' Begg - Managing Editor
the tenpinexpress.com
Beaver County, PA. - - - To those of you who have lived in Western Pennsylvania for any amount of time, you may have heard of this community at least once. But, for those of you who have not heard of this community, where the county line begins about 16 miles west of Downtown Pittsburgh. Let us give you a little geography lesson about the area.
Beaver County is a blue collar community where J & L Steel was once one of its biggest employers. It is also home to Old Economy Village, where a German religious sect, founded the community along the banks of the Ohio River in the 1800s. The area also gained some notoriety in 1995, when parts of the movie 'Kingpin' were shot at Beaver Valley Bowl in Rochester
However, the biggest thing that Beaver County is known for in the world of sports. Is that it produced three of th greatest football players in NFL history. Those three being: Mike Ditka, (Aliquippa); Tony Dorsett, (Hopewell); and Joe Namath, (Beaver Falls). They were proof of the blue collar work ethic. That if you worked hard and played hard, you would be rewarded for your
"I think hard work comes natural to you when you see people working at the steel mills everyday. Its just a wayof life. It also made me want to work harder at baseball, so I didn't have to work in those places. It was much easier for me to play baseball," said John Burkett, a former resident of Beaver, who was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the sixth round in 1983. He was the 144th player in the country drafted that year. "I miss the small town feel of Beaver County, and also the friends I have there."
Ever since Burky was old enough to participate in sports, he played and enjoyed all of them. It is also when he took an interest in bowling. That was because it was something he and his friends did together, and it was non stop. But, something told him that baseball would be the sport for him to concentrate on.
"I played baseball at Beaver High School. I played sandlot games when I was six years old, until I retired at 38 years old. Baseball was everything to me during the summers. My obsession was bowling in the winter," he said, on working hard to get good at both sports. "Seeing the success of: Ditka, Dorsett, and Namath, made me feel like I could accomplish my goals, but they were football players. Current Ceveland Indians manager, Terry Francona, was the person that inspired me and made me believe my dream of playing in the big leagues could happen.
The right-handed pitcher must havebeganto start to do something right on the mound during his junior year, as this was the time when he started to get noticed by scouts.
"Souts started coming to my games midway through my junior year in 1982. I didn't even think of the pressure. I thought of it as showing off, and never really thought about actually getting drafted. My entire focus was trying to win games for my team," said Burky, on when he started to get noticed. "We were a very small school, and we had a team that was going to have a chance to win a state title.
Earlyin mysenior year,scouts started talking to me a lot. Several told me I would be drafted anywhere from the third round to the 10th round. I still did not focus on it very much," he added. "My mind wasn't even made up as far as which sport I was going to pursue. I loved bowling just as much or more than baseball. The PBA tour was on my mind, too. That made it even easier to not feel the pressure. I just went out and tried to dominate for my teammates.
Besides getting the support of his parents to succeed in baseball, he also had another figure to lean on for guidance.
"It was my high school coach Ed Snitger. He didn't give me a lot of advice, but he was a very good person that pushed m to be my best. He was like a second father to me during my last two years," he said, of his coach. "He helped me with handling the attention, and negotiated my first contract when I was drafted. My mom was a homemaker, and my dad was in the newspaper advertising business. Both worked very hard, and were great role models."
During his 16 year MLB career, in addition to the Giants. Burky pitched for the: Florida Marlins, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, and Boston Red Sox. His career began in 1987, and he retired in 2003. He had a record of 166 wins, 136 losses, and finished with 1,766 strikeouts.
"I was part of the work stoppages in 1990 and 1994. Anytime you can avoid labor unrest, its great for the game. Its also nice to see the two sides working together over the last 20 years," he said, on having labor peace in the game. "Baseball seems to be very healthy right now. I don't see that changing in the next five years."
JB made the NL all-star team with the Giants in 1993, and in 2001 with the Braves. In 1993 he was 22-7, and also had a shot at winning the NL Cy Young Award.
"It was 1990 and we had an early work stoppage. My first start was a make up game in Los Angeles. The Dodgers were our biggest rival. The Giants flew me in for the day, and it was supposed to be my only start," he said, on one of his baseball memories. "I was determined to change their mind about that, and I went into Dodger stadium with my High School attitude. Nothing was going to stand in my way. I pitched seven innings, and was ahead 4-2. We won the game 8-4."
He finished his career with the Red Sox, and went 12-9 in 2003. He did have post season exposure with the Rangers.
"Gameone, of the 1996 division series. I started the first playoff game in Texas Rangers history. It was at Yankee Stadium versus the eventual World Champions," he said, on what probably had to be the biggest moment of his career. "I pitched a complete game, and won 6-2. That Ranger team was my favorite team to be part of. A very fun team that loved to compete."
Barry Bonds was the toughest hitter he faced during his career, and Sammy Sosa was one of the hitters he pitched very good against. And the Yankees, outside of the playoff game, remained one of the toughest teams he faced. He would have loved to be drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he is happy for their success in recent years.
"I was a huge Pirate fan, and would have loved to be drafted by them. That's not how it works though. 30 teams are picking, so there is a very slim chance to get selected by your favorite team," he said, on getting selected by his hometown team. "Its nice to see the Pirates getting things figured out, and returning to regular playoff status."
Beaver County is also home to a couple of other local sports celeberties. They are: Ron Cook, (Blackhawk); a sports writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. And Bob Pompeani, (Hopewell); sports anchor at KDKA-TV.
Others from the WPIAL who made it to professional sports from the area are: Dick Groat (Swissvale, Pirates); Terry Hanratty (Butler, Steelers); Jim Kelly (East Brady, Bills); Dan Marino (Central Catholic, Dolphins). Joe Montana (Ringold, 49ers). Darrell Revis, (Aliquippa, Jets); Neil Walker (Pine Richland, Pirates).
"I never received honors during my career. I won the most games (22) in 1993, but didn't win the Cy Young," he said, on reflecting on his baseball career. "The one honor I always wanted to achieve was World Series MVP. Because that would mean that I performed my best for my teammates when it mattered the most, resulting in a World Championship for us. I never got that opportunity."
Even though he retired from baseball in 2003, JB is still throwing strikes as a member of the PBA 50 Tour. The ball he throws now does not have two seams anymore, but three holes. Instead of concentrating on throwing the ball over the plate, he is concentrating on throwing the ball in the 1-3 pocket. But, the distance he rolls the bowling ball is still 60 feet. JB was introduced to the game of bowling at a young age. The first job he held, ironically, was that of a pin boy at Wedgewood Lanes in Beaver, Pa. The duckpin center eventually converted into tenpins. He has bowled a majority of the PBA 50 events this year, and knew he had to get himself into shape to get ready for the grind.
"Wedgewood Lanes was a great place for my first job experience, and the owners were like a second family to me. I loved the game of bowling from the time I was five or six," he remembers, on his first work experience. "I started bowling in the junior program at age eight. It was a great experience, and I was averaging 202 when I moved on to the adult leagues at 17 years old. I think I averaged 128 the first time I remember. I was probably nine or 10.
"I have been practicing and working out," he added. "Throwing strikes in both sports is all about repeating your throwing motion, and focusing on a target. They are very similar accept throwing overhand and underhand. More recently, I've been working on getting my rev rate back up by changing my grip. I have a tendency to squeeze it and the ball knuckles off my hand, but I'm starting to turn that problem around."
JB made his debut on the regular PBA Tour in 1990 in Pinole, Ca. He got more tournament experience by bowling in a lot of regional events. In 2014, he was a regular on the PBA's 2014 Oklahoma's Grand Resort Summer Series, and the Geico PBA World Series of Bowling VI. It was a good comfort level getting him prepared for the PBA 50 Tour.
"Tom Sposaro (who has a pro shop at Beaver Valley Bowl), was like an older brother and a coach from my early teens up till the present time. He still takes care of most of my equipment," he said, of his mentor. "I have high expectations of myself competing on the PBA 50 Tour, and I believe in myself. But, I'm not kidding myself that it won't be a work in progress. For most of the guys, making the right adjustments and ball moves is second nature. Where for me, it's going to be more of a continual learning experience."
He has done well on tour this past year. He has bowled in 10 events, and cashed in eight of them. He finished 15th in the US Open, and fourth in Brentwood, Ca.
"By being an athlete and bowling more competitive games on a regular basis should produce some good results," he said, on being on tour now. "What I am going to have to guard against, is getting too anxious and going into panic mode when I get lost. If there's an area that I really need to concentrate on, that would probably be it."
JB's highest sanctioned average to date is 239. He has 20 300 games, and 8 800 series. He has bowled in the Nationals for the last 10 years. His best finish in all events came in 2006, with a 2082. He has averaged 210 at the Nationals.
"I started bowling adult leagues at Sims Lanes in Beaver Falls on my father's team. I was very nervous my first night out, but got very comfortable very quickly," he said, of his first experience in adult leagues. "I shot my first 300 by throwing the last 21 strikes for a 774. This was one of my favorite nights in my bowling life.
"I bowled on wood lanes until I moved to Scottsdale, AZ in 1990," the former Valley resident added. "I really enjoyed the challenges of bowling on wood lanes. Synthetics have made the game easier, but that's just part of the growth of the game. Pennsylvania was wood lanes with plastic balls. We're now bowling on synthetics with the very dynamic equipment of today."
Up until last year, the only thing holding JB back from bowling on the PBA 50 full-time, was an endorsement deal from a bowling ball company. However, Storm stepped up to the plate, and realized the potential he had if he was bowling on the circuit full-time. When he is not on tour, JB bowls in leagues on Thursday morning and evening at Brunswick Zone Watauga. Watauga is a suburb of Dallas.
"I have used all of the Storm equipment, but my favorites were the: Menace, Haywire, and Optimus," he says, of hissponsor. "I've never made any Hall Of Fame, so it would be an honor to be elected to any of them."
So, how about it Beaver County Sports Hall Of Fame, and Beaver Valley Men's Bowling Association? Electing Burky into your Halls, would be a great start for this favorite son.
Arizona State Bowling News January 14, 2016