Jesse Burch got to usher in the New Year standing on a pitching mound in Florida.
The Oxford Middle School eighth-grader pitched in the Game Day USA 14U All-Star game at Champion Stadium at Walt Disney World, part of the Disney New Year’s Baseball Classic.
Jesse’s road to the All-Star game began when he played with the Oxford Wildcats 13U team in a tournament in Grand Rapids,.
‘We made it to the semi-finals and Jess was selected as the MVP (Most Valuable Player) player at the tournament for pitching,? explained his mother, Jeanette Burch.
‘He was picked by the other team’s coaches and players, not our team,? noted his father Rob Burch.
Because Jesse was chosen as the MVP, he was invited to play with other MVP players at another tournament in Grand Rapids with players from all over the country. The tournament included players from Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana. Jesse’s team ended up sweeping the whole tournament.
‘At that tournament, Jess hit two homeruns, three triples, several doubles. It was crazy,? Jeanette said. ‘He played amazing, it was pretty cool.?
Part of the tournament included a skills competition, which included things such as agility, batting, bat speed, pitch speed, etc, where players were rated by either college or high school coaches. It was from those scorecards that kids were to be chosen for Game Day USA.
‘They said there would be scouts there who would be looking to select kids to go to Disney for New Year’s, but we didn’t think anything of it,? Jeanette said.
Then, a few days later Jeanette received an e-mail from Game Day USA informing them that Jesse had been chosen for the All-Star team out of 2,550 players.
‘It was really cool,? Jesse said.
When it came to playing in Florida, Jesse said he enjoyed it. He thought playing on the Atlanta Braves Spring Training field was pretty cool, too.
‘The grass was different, and the infield was different. Down there,the fields are a lot nicer and just more solid, so you get a true hop (when the ball bounces),? he said.
Like the Grand Rapids tournament, there was a skills competition. Jesse’s team won first place and got a Mickey Mouse Trophy.
Jesse pitched in three of six games.
He pitched two innings in the first game and after defeating four teams, they were in the semi-finals in the final inning with the bases loaded and two outs. That’s when the coach called Jesse to be the closer and get the final out to win the game.
‘It wasn’t fun at all,? Jesse said. ‘One pitch could blow it.?
Fortunately, Jesse did it and landed his team in the championship game with him as the starting pitcher.
‘He pitched three and a third innings, struck out seven and gave up one run,? Jeanette said. ‘Then, the coach pulled him and put in two other pitchers and it didn’t work out. We lost by one.?
‘It was just really close all game (long),? Jesse added.
In game three, Jesse hit a 385-footer to left field for an in-the park home-run.
‘That was cool,? Jesse said. ‘I kind of watched it for a second and then started running. After I came home they didn’t even have the ball in (from the outfield) yet.?
‘He hit it to left field, the ball landed on the warning track and bounced up one time and hit the wall and just dropped, so it’s a in the park homerun,? Rob explained. ‘But still 385 feet (is impressive).?
As far as being on the mound, like any pitcher, Jesse just enjoys striking batters out with his almost 80-mile-per-hour fast-ball.
‘I like throwing hard and watching the junk move,? he said.
His favorite major league pitcher to watch is Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners. His favorite team is the Miami Marlins.
During the off-season, Jesse trains three days a week. But even on his ‘off days,? he is still focused on baseball.
‘He’ll still be out in the garage swinging his bat or irritating me by throwing a ball against the garage,? his dad said with a laugh.
Like any kid with a dream, Jesse wants to play ball in college and hopes to be good enough to make it to the majors.
‘If I can’t make it, then I want to start my own company to train others how play baseball and pitch,? he noted
‘I want him to get paid to play, so he can pay me back,? Rob said with a smile.
One of the things Jeanette and Rob love about their son is even though he’s proven himself to be a good ball player and has many accomplishments, he remains humble and never boasts to his friends or anyone about how well he did in a game.
‘Actions speak louder than words,? Jesse said. ‘If you’re good at something, they’ll see it.?