OAJKLAND, California — Jake Burger's home run power has been waning of late and he's battling a slump.
So what's a good wife to do?
Ashlyn Burger knows what to do. She looked at some videos of her husband from a game in which he hit two home runs, compared them to his recent game and noticed the difference in his stance.
“I have to give credit to my wife because I sent her some videos to see what she felt was wrong,” Burger said Sunday after hitting a 442-foot home run against Rico Garcia in the White Sox's 8-7 win against the Athletics. “He wants to get some credit so I'll give him some. Only mechanical repair. I feel much more like myself today.”
Tweets about Burger getting help from his wife generated huge reactions, including this one from Ashlyn: “You should see that booty baby!”
Burger, who has taken over regular third base duties since Yoan Moncada was injured, was dropped from manager Pedro Grifol's line-up Friday after playing in 21 straight games and hitting . 102 with one home run, one RBI and 19 strikeouts in his game. previously 13. He contributed a pinch singles against the A's Friday, and after going 0-for-4 Saturday, he was 2-for-4 including a homer on Sunday.
“Even my series had three hits, all over 105 mph and when I did that was the kind of game I played,” said Burger. “I feel like I'm trending in the right direction.”
Partly thanks to Ashlyn.
“He drew a diagram of my stance yesterday and when I hit a home run against (Rays pitcher Zach) Eflin at home (April 28),” Burger said. “He drew diagrams and everything, he was really proud of that, so I have to give him credit.
“Have been going through it for a few weeks now so it was good to feel myself today. I feel what I felt about a month ago.”
Burger's production was good enough to warrant chatter about a possible All-Star as the designated hitter, and Ashlyn was campaigning for it on social media. But the blow fell.
After Sunday, Burger hit .220/.273/.520 with a .793 OPS and 18 home runs, ranking second on the team. Homer Sunday was the Burgers' first in eight games and second in 16 games.
“Obviously there was a problem with my setup, I was a little too upright the last two weeks,” said Burger. “He drew a sort of line to describe where my body, my center of gravity rests. Yeah, so I have to give him credit for that.”