BRADENTON, Fla. -- More than a decade has passed since the bat signal first appeared on the Pittsburgh skyline to summon the Pirates’ own Caped Crusader. On Sunday morning, the baseball superhero it once represented decided that 11 years was enough time away.
“I'm not here to change anybody; I'm not here to make a miracle,” said A.J. Burnett, who’ll be in camp for the next several days as a guest. “I'm just here to make somebody better if I can. I don't need to put my name on a kid or do anything like that. … Whatever I can do to make anybody better.
“Same thing I tried to do as a player, I'm trying to do now.”
Burnett spent just three of his 17 MLB seasons with Pittsburgh (2012-13, ’15), but it didn’t take long for him to forever endear himself to the Pirates faithful. Sure, he helped lead the Bucs to their first postseason berth in 20 years in (’13) and their last one to date (’15), and that’s a success the current club would love to reharness.
But the city’s love for Burnett goes deeper than one-hitters and All-Star nods. It’s about his blue-collar grit and his fiery intensity, his encounter with Hanley Ramirez that spawned a new slogan in the city … and the knuckle tattoos that later came to commemorate it.
“Everything I’ve heard and seen [about] him is that he’s a difference-maker and shapes the culture of the clubhouse and the character of the team, so it’s great to have him,” said Pirates ace Paul Skenes.
Spring Training is the perfect opportunity for past players to pop in on the new wave, share wisdom and pass along stories of the good old days. But if there’s such a thing as “alumni energy,” that was not at all what Burnett brought with him to Pirate City.
The 49-year-old did not appear to have lost a step since the final season of his MLB career, when he posted a 3.18 ERA in 26 starts for the Bucs in 2015. Dressed head to toe in Pirates workout gear, Burnett wasn’t at Pirate City to sign autographs or kiss babies.
He looked fully prepared -- and able -- to crack Pittsburgh's 2026 rotation.
“He’s a pretty big dude,” said baseball’s No. 11 prospect Bubba Chandler, who’s more likely to actually break camp with team. “... Having a guy like him around for a couple days can be pretty nice. I hope to pick his brain a little more.”
Chandler threw a morning bullpen with Burnett sitting behind him, leaning forward in concentration as the talented young righty got his work in. Chandler said he received “some good feedback” afterward from the veteran Chandler watched growing up.
In addition to watching over the bullpen on his first day, Burnett also spent time motoring up and down the rows in the clubhouse, doling out high-fives, handshakes and back pats, encouraging players to reach out to connect.
It was exactly the vibe manager Don Kelly was hoping for when he extended an invitation for Burnett to attend workouts.
“Just what he meant to the city of Pittsburgh, to the Pirates and the resurgence of that team coming back in 2012, starting to lay the groundwork and what he meant in ’13 and ’15,” Kelly said. “He brought an edge and a compete factor, something we need to emulate as the Pittsburgh Pirates this year.
“... He’s done it. He’s been there. He’s had the ups and seen the downs. To be able to work through it all and just the edge that he brought every single day. He brought leadership. The way he competed, it doesn’t matter what generation of baseball that is, it plays.”
Burnett will be in camp for several days, spreading knowledge and energy and fist bumps while trying to embrace the youthful atmosphere and forgetting that he once attended the same camp as right-hander Cam Sanders’ dad, Scott.
What’s been the best part so far?
“Talking shop and watching ’pens,” Burnett said with a smile. “Everywhere I go, they’re pulling me aside. That’s a good feeling. I’m here, doing whatever I can to make somebody better. ‘Ask away. Come at me. Whatever you need, I’m here for.’”
Eleven years later, there's no spotlight in the sky, but the standard it represents is back with the team and ready to help this club make its own legacy.
Because some signals never really go dark.