Quick Facts
Biography
John David Burkett (born November 28, 1964) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He compiled 166 wins, 1,766 strikeouts, and a 4.31 earned run average. He pitched from 1987 to 2003, with the San Francisco Giants, Florida Marlins, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox. His best season came in 1993 when he went 22–7 with a 3.65 ERA for the Giants. Burkett was a National League All-Star in 1993 and 2001, and he retired following the 2003 season after going 12–9 with the Red Sox at age 38. He was known as "Sheets" in the Red Sox clubhouse because of his betting and organizing pools for games in the National Football League. His 1996 postseason win with the Rangers in the Divisional Series was the first postseason win in the franchise's history.
Burkett is also a part-time professional bowler, and has 12 perfect games to his credit. He finished 15th in the 2015 Suncoast PBA Senior US Open.
He has six children named Avery, Maxwell, Reid, Meg, Rachel, and Madison. Both Reid and Meg attend Southern Methodist University.