Christopher Burke

Christopher Allen Burke is a Major League Baseball player who plays professionally in the United States of America. An extremely versatile player, he has played at second base, shortstop and at all three outfield positions. Burke played collegiate baseball at the University of Tennessee, and was a part of the All American teams thrice. In 1999, he was part of the freshmen 2nd team All American at second base.

The following year, he made it as a 3rd team All American and was also named to the All-Southeastern Conference team at second base. In his junior year, he was a shortstop and helped the Tennessee Volunteers to reach the College World Series with a .435 batting average, 30 home runs and 49 stolen bases, while also being named to the CWS all-tournament team. He was also named as a1st Team All American shortstop and was chosen as the 2001 SEC Player of the Year.

In the 2001 MLB Draft, he was the Houston Astros' first overall pick, and the 10th selection overall. He spent 2003 as a minor league player and was Round Rock's team MVP along with being a Texas League All-Star with a batting average of 0.301 and 3 home runs with a 41 RBI. He won the Pacific Coast League Rookie of the Year award the next year as well as the New Orleans Zephyr's team MVP award. This was all in addition to being named in the All-PCL and AAA All Star teams. His batting average at the end of the season was 0.315 and he had 16 homeruns, 52 RBI and had 37 steals to his name. For the second year in a row, this performance got him into the All-Star Futures game.

In 2004 itself, Burke got his big chance to play in the MLB. The Astros called him up for a game against the Texas Rangers, although his first-ever hit came when he was sent on as a pinch hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals. Slowly, Burke was becoming one of the hottest properties in the Astros' lineup. Despite such ratings, he was sent to the Round Rock team in May, only to be pulled back after he averaged 0.311 with the team. His season, including the Major League, ended with a 0.248 batting average that included 5 home runs and 26 RBI in 108 appearances. His 11-game hitting streak was tied for the longest hitting streak by a Rookie.

He was again sent off to Round Rock for the 2007 season and despite struggling with form, he was recalled a few months down the line. At the end of 2007, Chad Qualls and Juan Gutierrez accompanied Burke in a trade out to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Jose Valverde.