Happy birthday to Devin Burkes, hero of Kentucky's Regional run

The Big Blue Nation has baseball fever after Kentucky’s run through the Lexington Regional, and that’s due in large part to one player: Devin Burkes. The redshirt sophomore catcher was named Most Outstanding Player of the regional after scoring the run to put Kentucky up for good in the sixth inning vs. Indiana in the winner-take-all final last night. Over Kentucky’s five games in the regional, Devin Burkes batted .462 from the plate with two doubles, two home runs, and 7 RBI.

Each big play was celebrated with a shimmy, a nod to former professional wrestler Ravishing Rick Rude’s signature move.

When it’s your birthday and you were just named the regional’s Most Outstanding Player. Happy birthday, @Devin_Burkes! pic.twitter.com/pGdEIXi8DH

— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) June 6, 2023

As that tweet indicates, today just so happens to be Burkes’ 21st birthday. I can’t think of a better present than a trip to the Super Regional, only the second in Kentucky Baseball history.

After the game, Burkes donned the ESPN2 headset to recap the win, give his mom Denise a shoutout, and show off that dance — which he calls “Gyrate” — one more time:

In the postgame press conference, Burkes was asked how it felt to win Most Outstanding Player honors.

“I’m just trying to come through for my team,” Burkes said. “That’s all it is. That’s all you’ve got to do in big situations.”

Burkes may not like to brag about himself, so his teammate infielder Hunter Gilliam did it for him.

“You put in so much time and you put in so much work,” Gilliam said. “Devo is the king of work, and we get after it. I think that good things happen to good people.”

“Just gotta put it all out there,” Burkes said of his postseason mentality. “It’s my favorite time of the year. It’s make it or break it. You don’t have time to sit there and think about stuff. Just go out there and play every day.”

Even if it means playing five games in four days, including a doubleheader. After the players exited the room, Nick Mingione praised Burkes’ stamina, which was on display as he notched hits and stole bases throughout the weekend.

“I went up to him yesterday. I said, hey, you’re going to have to catch 18 innings. Devin, I want you to know I told our staff you’re from the state of Florida, you’ve played in a lot of double-headers, and I have total peace you’re going to dominate this. You’re going to take care of your body. I asked him about his hydration. I said, I just want you to know ahead of time, you are going to do awesome today. You’ve done this your whole life. This is no different. He’s like, ‘Coach, I got this, I’m built for this. I said, you are, get ready. I’m coming, Coach, I’m coming.'”

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Mingione on Burkes: “He’s a warrior”

Mingione raved about Burkes’ progress off the field as well. He told reporters about a meeting he and his staff had with the sophomore after he won the catching job in the fall and a unique challenge with which they presented him.

“He’s a warrior. I’ve got to tell you something about Devin Burkes,” Mingione said. “One thing we asked him to do, hey, when we come back in the spring, Devin, I think it would be a really good idea for you to just swing by and pop in the offices every day just to say hi. If there’s anything, you’re going to help Coach Roszel lead the pitching staff. If there’s something he needs to share with you or whatever, it’s totally up to you, you don’t have to. But if you choose you should pop by, totally up to you.”

I bet you know where this is going.

“That guy’s come by our office every day,” Mingione said. “Every day that guy comes in and I hear him at the end of the hallway and he lights up the office with his, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ It’s, like, ‘Coach, what’s up? Hey, brah, Coach, what’s up?’

“And I’m like, all right he’s coming down. He makes his way. He stops at all the offices and he stops in my office and we spend time together every day. I’ve learned so much about him. Personally, this guy, shew, this guy is different. Whew, even brought his mom by the office today. He literally brought his mom by the office today.

“This guy is a winner and he cares and he wants to win. And, whew, he’s a special dude, a very special dude.”