How Nick Burdi reinvented himself, and why it's a big deal for the Pirates
Pirates closer-in-waiting Nick Burdi reinvented himself during MLB’s recent lockdown with the help of a 20-year-old former junior college pitcher who began working as a coach only nine months ago.
“I had a really good quarantine,” Burdi said. “I wouldn’t say I’m a totally different pitcher, but there have been some mechanical changes that are definitely noticeable now.”
Burdi trained six days a week with John DeRouin at Hop’s Athletic Performance in Coventry, R.I. When Burdi first walked into the gym last November, DeRouin was still a student-athlete at Rhode Island Community College and had just started coaching at Hop’s.