ST. LOUIS -- To truly become the hitter he always thought he could be and earn the affirmation that a Silver Slugger Award provides, Cardinals outfielder/first baseman Alec Burleson had to shed the stubbornness of thinking he could hit any pitch and combine a heavy dose of patience with some self-discipline.
Even though he arrived at Spring Training in 2024 without an everyday spot in the lineup, Burleson had a true breakout season by smashing 21 home runs and driving in 78 runs in 152 games. However, his ceiling was somewhat lowered -- and his second half badly stunted -- by chasing 34.5 percent of pitches out of the strike zone, per Baseball Savant.
When Burleson addressed his impatience at the plate -- dropping that chase rate to 28.8 percent in 2025 -- his offensive numbers soared, and he ultimately won the National League’s Silver Slugger Award among utility fielders. Burleson, who played first base in 50 games and spent 75 games in the outfield, reached career highs in batting average (.290), on-base percentage (.343), slugging (.459), OPS (.802), doubles (26) and triples (two). He led the Cardinals in batting average, slugging and OPS and smashed 18 home runs with 69 runs driven in.
Showing the ability to both hit for average and still drive the ball for extra-base hits, Burleson was one of just four National League players to hit at least .290 and slug at least .450 along with Dodgers superstar Freddie Freeman, Phillies shortstop Trea Turner and D-backs shortstop Geraldo Perdomo. Patience at the plate, Burleson stressed, finally helped him unlock another level in his production in 2025.
“It took me being OK with taking strikes, and it took me being down 0-1,” Burleson said on Friday. “It took me being in a hitter’s count and taking a strike, and it took me being OK with seeing pitches go by.
“But it was just about having a plan every single at-bat and sticking to it until you have to go off script. It’s about really being stubborn and being OK with taking strikes that are dotted on the corner even if it’s a hitter’s count. It took a lot for me to really understand that, accept it and buy into it. That’s where you’ve seen the improvement.”
Burleson recently had another life event that taught him patience when he and wife Mary welcomed the birth of son Braxton Andrew on Oct. 4. Anticipating the birth, the Burlesons hung around St. Louis for three days after the regular season concluded. Then, within 24 hours of the family returning to their native North Carolina, Braxton was born at 1:30 a.m. on a Saturday.
“Definitely life-changing,” Burleson said with a smile. “So, it was pretty easy for me to turn the baseball switch off and get in offseason mode and dad mode. [Braxton] got nothing from me except his appetite. He looks just like my wife, and nothing like me. Kudos to my wife because she’s taken on a lot of the responsibility as I’ve still got to get my stuff in for my job. But it’s a life-changing experience and really cool.”
What was also cool for Burleson was earning the trust of manager Oliver Marmol to make him an everyday player for the first time in his career in 2025. Losing weight, becoming more mobile and better defensively allowed the Cardinals to use him in the outfield and at first base. That consistency of being in the lineup helped him close the second half with a .285 average, a .795 OPS and seven home runs -- big improvements over his final half of '24, when he hit just .242 with a .626 OPS and only four home runs.
Winning the Silver Slugger -- a first for the Cardinals since Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado did so in 2022 -- was confirmation for Burleson that he is an elite hitter and one deserving of a full-time spot in the Cards' lineup, he said.
“I knew I could hit at this level, and it was just a matter of getting better in certain areas,” said Burleson, who wants to work this offseason to improve on hitting left-handed pitching. “It took a lot of hard work and, really, some self-reflection of understanding who I am and what I can do, and it took a lot of buying into that.
“Obviously, I’m not the Masyn Winn on defense or the Victor Scott on the basepaths, so I need to get my extra-base hits when I can. That’s my game, and it’s really special to me to be honored for that.”