There was one point in Jake Berger’s young professional career when it looked like they were going to do him a major disservice.
Fast forward to now and Missouri State is putting together a season that is attracting tremendous all-star buzz.
One of the best stories in all of Major League Baseball, Berger made a big impact with the Chicago White Sox this season as he became one of the best power hitters in all of baseball.
On Friday afternoon, Berger launched 16 balls over the fence to go along with 36 RBI. His 16 homers tied him for 12th in MLB, more than the likes of Mike Trout and Ronald Acuna Jr., each of whom Berger appeared in at least 15 fewer games.
In recent days, the White Sox have launched a campaign to make Burger a superstar on social media. He was asked by reporters about the possibility of participating in the home run of the Seattle All-Star Festival next month, July 8-11.
Berger’s derby performance will be something to behold. how He’s hitting home runs this season.
According to the MLB Statcast database, Berger is one of the hardest hitters in the league. He has the second hardest fastball this season at 118.2 mph. That’s just a quarter mile per hour off the bat of Atlanta Braves standout Matt Olsen.
Among qualified players, Berger ranks third in MLB in slugging percentage per plate appearance. He trails only Aaron Judge and Corey Seager, two of the best players in the league.
Berger has drawn more attention of late — thanks to his first two-run home run in a nationally televised game against the Dodgers on Wednesday. He followed that up with another homer Thursday. On June 8, he hit a walk to beat Detroit.
The White Sox were 5.5 games behind Minnesota late Friday afternoon in a weak American League Central.
Every team in MLB is guaranteed at least one representative in the All-Star Game. Currently, Berger would be competing for the White Sox spot with outfielder Louis Roberts Jr. if they were to acquire just one player. Robert is batting .264 this season and has one more home run than Berger in 16 more games.
Berger’s exit comes as no surprise to those who followed his career at Missouri State, where he was one of the Bears’ best in three seasons. He hit .339 with 47 total home runs while leading the Bears to a pair of NCAA Tournament Super Regional appearances.
Berger was drafted by the White Sox with the 11th overall pick in 2017. In spring training the following year, he tore his Achilles and tore it again a few months later. After several years of extensive rehab, Berger was ready for the 2021 season and finally made his MLB debut later that year.
Now Burger is playing the best baseball of his professional career and even has a contract with the Buffalo Wild Wings to promote their Burger business.
Berger appeared in 117 games with the White Sox over the past three seasons and hit .251 with 25 home runs and 65 RBI.
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. Reach him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or on Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL.
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