A.J. Burnett: Leaving Pittsburgh Made It That Much Sweeter
BRADENTON (93-7 The Fan) – Pirates pitcher A.J. Burnett sat down with "The Fan Morning Show" at Spring Training in Bradenton to talk about his second stint in Pittsburgh getting underway.
Burnett is ready to pour everything he has into this season after deciding to put off retirement and sign a one-year deal with the Bucs this offseason
"Why not go out with a bang?" Burnett said. "Leave it all out there and go out with a bang."
When asked why he wanted to come back here, Burnett explained that his year in Philadelphia made Pittsburgh even more special to him.
"I think one of the main reasons was because I left," Burnett said. "I think there's a lot of emotions, a lot of feelings that I'm tied to with that city, those people, this organization, and definitely the guys in the locker room. I went back home - close to home - tried to be close to the [family], try to get one more year out close to home for a change, and things didn't work out the way I wanted, and it was a little bumpy [of a] year. And if I'm going to come back for one more, I'm coming back where I'm going to be at least happier, at least be around guys that I know, that I'm comfortable with, in a city that has your back no matter what."
Burnett said he's ready for life without baseball, whenever the time comes for him to retire.
"Could I play for four or five more years? Yeah, maybe," Burnett said. "But, I realize what the body's telling me. I've put my time in. I've gotten to play with some Hall of Famers. I have a couple rings, and I want another one. There's not really anything else I want to accomplish. I've helped people, and I think that's more important now to me than anything that I've done, is the fact that I know now that I can help some young guys in the game, and it's time to go help my young guys at home."
"The Fan Morning Show" will be broadcasting live from Bradenton all week long.
The interview can be heard here: