Topic: A.J .Burnett

Allan James "A.J." Burnett (born January 3, 1977, in North Little Rock, Arkansas) is a right-handed Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the New York Yankees. Previously, he played for the Florida Marlins and the Toronto Blue Jays. He was drafted by New York Mets in the eighth round with the 217th overall pick of 1995 amateur entry draft.

On May 12, 2001, Burnett recorded a no-hitter in a complete game shutout against the San Diego Padres in his second start of the season. He shut down the Padres with the 3–0 victory even though he issued nine walks, helping his own cause by striking out seven Padres hitters. His game-worn cap and a baseball from the game are on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.

Burnett was an eighth-round pick of the New York Mets in the 1995 amateur draft, but he was traded to the Marlins after the 1997 season when the Marlins dismantled their 1997 World Series championship roster. He was first called up to the Marlins from Class AA Portland in 1999, despite having a record of 6–12 and an ERA of 5.52 with Portland. He played parts of 1999 and 2000 with the Marlins; his first full regular season with the Marlins came in 2001, when he went 11–12 with an ERA of 4.05. On May 12, 2001, Burnett pitched a no-hitter but walked nine batters, which was a very unusual baseball feat. In 2002, he held an ERA of 3.30 and finished with a 12–9 record with and 203 strikeouts, career bests that he did not top until 2008. Burnett was limited to four starts in 2003 before missing the rest of the season due to Tommy John surgery and thus did not play during the Marlins' World Series championship run. He returned in June 2004 and made 19 starts for the Marlins, going 7–6 with an ERA of 3.68. Even during 2004, his first season back from having the surgery, he was able to throw 102 mph. He was shut down for most of September 2004 due to a less serious elbow injury.