Countless home runs are hit every spring training. But it would be tough to argue many carry more meaning than the two-run shot
“Man, I can’t even imagine the two days he went through and how intense it must’ve been,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy told reporters. “It’s incredible what his young daughter, Penelope, went through.”
Penelope was born Oct. 25 with Down syndrome, a condition in which a person is born with an extra chromosome, causing mild to moderate cognitive disability, developmental delays and physical challenges.
Burger and his wife, Ashlyn, knew Penelope would need heart surgery sometime during spring training. It happened Monday at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.
“You have to have faith in something when you’re in the waiting room there,” Burger said, according to The Dallas Morning News. “My faith in God and my faith in my family just grew exponentially. Just blessed and grateful to have Penelope on the mend and ready to come to some Ranger baseball.”
1st Burger Bomb of Spring! pic.twitter.com/V1Ci011Oyj
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) February 27, 2025
Burger said he remained with Penelope until late Wednesday night, even holding her hand at the hospital before he took an early-morning flight to Arizona.
When he stepped to the plate against Castano, he was wearing Penelope’s hospital band on his left wrist.
“I landed at 7:40, drove straight here and got to work,” Burger told reporters. “Maybe that’s the secret sauce there. I don’t know if I want to do that on a daily basis, but, if we need a home run, maybe? Maybe throw that in there.”
Burger will wear No. 21 for the Rangers this season. The number is a nod to trisomy 21, the clinical name for Down syndrome, and by wearing it, Burger has said he hoped it would help raise awareness about the condition.
