As the nation flocks to theaters to see the latest man to don the costume of the caped crusader, we take a look back at the legacy of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ dark knight.

“Thank you, A.J.”

The sentiment rang out on many occasions from the Pirates faithful, sometimes in a collective roar, other times a simple sentiment of acknowledgement of what Pittsburgh Pirates A.J. Burnett, 39, meant to this team and its fans.  On this particular occasion it was different.  It was a celebration of a seventeen year career with five teams, Hall of Fame caliber numbers, of a player finishing on his terms in the city that embraced him as one of their own.

The night was October 3, 2015.  The Pirates were preparing for yet another wild card matchup, and Burnett had taken the mound for his final regular season start and what turned out to be the final start of his career.  He made his way to the dugout after surrendering three runs through six and two-thirds innings.  The Pirates offense had fallen flat against the Cincinnati Reds.  Once again, A.J posted a stellar performance in front of the home town supporters only to have to wait in the dugout hoping for a no decision.

On this occasion the decision was clear, he had to acknowledge it.  Even if only in some small way, the moment had to be remembered.  The Votto cap tip, the fans, the moment could not be ignored.  He took his time, hanging a few seconds longer than it would have normally taken him.  He had to soak in the moment.  The fans wouldn’t let him just leave.  They couldn’t.  They called him back out for one last curtain call, so with a kiss to his family and a wave to the fans, he disappeared down into the dugout one last time.  Hardly the showy sendoff of Derek Jeter, but it was appropriate for the man Pittsburgh called Batman.  For all the passion and attitude he could show on the mound and in front of the media, Burnett had always been cool and calm about acknowledging the fans.

Oh believe me, he heard you.  Everyone heard you.  From the disparaging radio phone calls assaulting the front office for not spending the money to keep him here in 2014 when he departed for an injury-riddled year in Philadelphia to that night as Pittsburgh sent off its dark knight not with ridicule and jeers for losing a meaningless game in early October, but with the reverence of an esteemed veteran that had given this city, this team everything he had.

He put off getting to be with his family to end things the right way, and end it the right way, he did.  He battled through injuries and fatigue that would have sidelined a lesser man.  Burnett posted the best first half numbers of his career.  He was a legitimate contender for the Cy Young, overshadowed only by equal performances from Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer and his own teammate Gerrit Cole.  The performance was enough to earn him his first all-star game invitation.

He struggled in the second half as Father Time caught up with him as he was placed on the disabled list in August for a flexor tendon strain and the remainder of his entire season was brought into question.  If that would have been the end of his storied career, he would have ended it with a memorable final home start, even more memorable than his actual final home start.

Who could forget that weekend last July where the Pirates took three of four from the Cardinals heading into the All-Star Game?  In the third game of the series, the Pirates looked like they were well on their way, down 3-0, to being down a game in the series heading into the final game of the series, but A.J. Burnett decided he would have his say in the outcome.  He turned on an 0-2 fastball John Lackey left over the heart of the plate and belted it out to left.  Fist pumping around first, he awoke the home crowd and the Pirates’ bats.

Nine innings later, Andrew McCutchen finished off what A.J. Burnett started.

The next day, the Pirates walked it off again to complete the most memorable series in PNC Park history.  That series personified the ‘Battling Buccos’ mentality fans have come to know and love (and stress over).  A.J. Burnett was the epitome of that attitude, an attitude the Pirates were sorely lacking as he was forced to watch Madison Bumgarner pick apart the hapless Bucs in the 2014 wild card game.

He had one simple question for his wife that night.  “Why am I not there?”  The Phillies and Burnett both agreed to refuse their mutual option.  In November 2014, Burnett managed to convince Pirates General Manager Neal Huntington, not that he needed much convincing, to bring him back at a price both parties could be satisfied with.  In fact, Burnett’s agent Darek Braunecker was instructed to only negotiate with the Pirates.  The result was a one-year, $8.5 million contract, which was worth every penny for both the Pirates and the fans that traversed tunnel closures and construction detours just to glimpse the wonder that was A.J. Burnett.

After having done just about everything he could in his career, Burnett was interested only in winning.  Burnett said, “It’s about being in a place where I know I can win it all. It’s about how many years I’ve got left. It’s about my family and my heart. To be able to get out where I want, I’m so lucky to have that opportunity. There’s nowhere I’d rather finish my career than in that city, with that organization and those people in that locker room.”  The Pirates couldn’t come through, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great ride.

I was there on April 14 as A.J. Burnett made his first home start of the season, a 0-2 loss to Detroit.  It felt like highway robbery to get to watch such a pitcher’s duel slip away on “Buc night.”  The Tigers’ Shane Greene outpitched A.J. Burnett over eight solid innings, while Pirates fans in attendance paid very little attention to the man who took the mound in the bottom of the ninth in relief, Joakim Soria.  Burnett pitched his own gem, six and two thirds innings of one run ball.  He struck out eight, while allowing seven hits and walking two.

It was the kind of outing we came to expect from Burnett, solid and uneventful, and all too often, it still wasn’t enough for the Pirates to give him the wins he deserved.  In fact, in a Pirates uniform, the Pirates won only 40 of 63 of the starts in which Burnett gave up three runs or less.  That mere 63% efficiency explains why the Pirates have found themselves consistently playing second fiddle to the Cardinals year after year.  Of course, Burnett was easily capable of more efficient outings.  When Burnett gave up two runs or less, the Pirates won 34 of 54 of those games, which is also good for a 63% winning percentage.

The rabid Batman fan bought into the persona as Pittsburgh embraced its Dark Knight, more a Dark Knight in the hearts and minds of fans of the Pirates Baseball Club than Christian Bale ever was, even when filming parts of the third installment of the Christopher Nolan reboot trilogy in various parts of downtown Pittsburgh.  When Burnett returned from his August 2015 flexor strain DL stint, the Pirates organization welcomed him back in style on September 10th as Pittsburgh lit up downtown with bat signals calling for its hero to try to pull the Pirates closer in the division race with the Cardinals.

Lasers were projected onto three buildings to herald Pittsburgh’s Batman back to the mound.  Burnett only lasted five innings giving up three runs, and Radhames Liz melted down in the thirteenth as the Pirates lost 6-4 to the Brewers.  It wasn’t his finest performance, but it was still the mark of efficiency we came to expect and take for granted as fans.

His finest performance, arguably, was Sunday, August 4, 2013 against the Colorado Rockies.  It was a perfect day for baseball on the North Shore.  It was a slightly warm seventy-five degrees.  The sun was shining and so was Burnett.  Right away, it was one of those games you knew would be special.  He had the Rockies players chasing pitches all over the place.  It was the liveliest I had ever seen his off speed pitches, but he still had perfect control and command.

The Rockies were able to get a few people on base, but Burnett never panicked.  In the third, he worked out of a runner on third, one out situation.  In the fifth, he worked out of runners at the corners and only one out without getting that double play ball or sending anyone down by way of the strikeout.  The Rockies rarely made solid contact, and one of the best parts was how Burnett was able to keep the pitch count exceedingly low even late into the game, a trait he was not known for at any point later in his career.

After the sixth inning ended with Tulowitzki going down swinging at a curveball that the bottom fell out on just before reaching the plate, Burnett got a standing ovation.  The Pirates were leading 5-0 at that point, and manager Clint Hurdle had already garnered a reputation for pulling starters a little early when pitching with a comfortable lead.  The fans knew that.  We all stood.  We all applauded.  However, the dark knight kept rising back out of the dugout.  The Rockies got to Burnett in the seventh for a run, but that was all they would get.

Wearing the early 1970’s throwback jerseys, Burnett turned back the clock himself that day, as he did many times as a Pirate, returning to the dominance that allowed him to earn lucrative contracts throughout his career.  Inning after inning, the fans stood every time Burnett left the field, each time greeted with that half wave Burnett used to shyly accept the praise of Bucco nation.  He would go on to finish the complete game with nine strikeouts, eight hits and one walk allowed.  The Rockies pitcher and Pirates spring phenom Juan Nicasio was clearly outmatched that day.

After the eighth inning, just about everyone thought Burnett was done.  He was at ninety-nine pitches.  It wasn’t a shutout.  Surely, he was done.  It started off quietly, but like a wave, the people and sound erupted around the stadium as everyone let Burnett hear it.  The person sitting next to me, clearly not an avid baseball fan, looked up at me and asked, “Why is everyone standing?  What happened?”

A.J. Burnett happened.

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