EVERGREEN, Colo. — For the first time in franchise history, the Texas Rangers are World Series Champions. They shut out the Diamondbacks last night 5-0 to secure the title, included in that winning team was 2014 Evergreen grad, Brock Burke.
Burke pitched during Game 4 of the World Series. He was drafted by Tampa Bay in 2014 and later joined the Texas Rangers organization. His former coach at Evergreen High School, Dale Hutchings, watched every game of the series.
"When they put him back on I was very excited and encouraged for him because I had sent him a text and said, 'Hey, stay in shape and stay ready you never know' and of course look what happened," Hutchings told 9NEWS. "Not everybody is a World Series champion. He is a World Series champion I mean you can't take that away from him."
Burke was added to the roster just before Game 4 to replace an injured Max Scherzer. One inning pitched, now brings a lifetime of pride.
"Obviously I was really happy for the Rangers but I was really happy for Brock," Hutchings explained. "It was a big stage for him."
But Hutchings always knew the pitcher was capable of accomplishing great things. Hutchings holds on to an old team photo from 2014. It was just before a game against Eaglecrest High School. It was being played at Coors Field. Hutchings said Burke started and logged 19 strikeouts.
"I still say it was awesome, you just don’t do that, that’s a whale of an accomplishment," Hutchings continued. Eaglecrest's coach agreed. He still remembered it nine years later.
"Oh, right here he's a pro prospect that's for sure. The kid is legit," he said as he read his own quote from an article about Burke's outing that game. "You knew you were watching something that even though we weren't a great part of it we were part of something that was probably going to be pretty neat down the road."
Burke isn't the only Evergreen grad to make it to the MLB. Kevin Kouzmanoff was a 1999 graduate of Evergreen High. He is now retired but played for a number of teams including the Rockies and the Rangers.
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