Chris Burke was a standout baseball player at the University of Tennessee, where he was named to three All-American teams. In 1990, Burke was selected as a Freshman 2nd team All-American at second base. In 2000, in addition to being named a 3rd team All-American, he was named to the All-Southeastern Conference team at second base.
In 2001, his junior year, Burke moved to shortstop and helped the Volunteers make an appearance in the College World Series by hitting .435 with 20 home runs and 49 stolen bases. Burke was named the CWS all-tournament team. He was a first-team All-American shortstop and unanimously chosen as the 2001 SEC Player of the Year. He was also a finalist for the 2001 Rotary Smith Award.
Burke was the Houston Astros’ first pick in the 2001 Major League Basketball Draft as the 10th overall selection. He made his MLB debut on July 4, 2004, against the Texas Rangers.
Burke played a total of six major league seasons with Houston, Arizona and San Diego, registering 303 hits and an on base percentage of .315. He is perhaps best known for hitting the series-winning walk-off home run off the Atlanta Braves’ Joey Devine that ended Game 4 of the 2005 National League Division series. The game, which lasted 18 innings and took 5 hours and 50 minutes to play, stands as the second-longest playoff game in Major League postseason history.
Chris is now an SEC baseball analyst on ESPN and SEC Network.