Countless home runs are hit every spring training. But it would be tough to argue many carry more meaning than the two-run shot Jake Burger hit Thursday.
Burger spent the week at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, where his 4-month-old daughter, Penelope, had open-heart surgery. The procedure, which was planned, was a success, Burger told reporters, and the veteran first baseman rejoined his new Texas Rangers teammates Thursday morning ahead of their spring game against the Seattle Mariners.
A few hours later, Burger stepped to the plate in Surprise, Arizona, and launched a fifth-inning home run off Mariners right-hander Blas Castano.