Newlywed Burlesons face different kinds of work demands

This story was excerpted from John Denton’s Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

JUPITER, Fla. -- Alec Burleson’s job requires him to step into the batter’s box against some of the best pitchers in the world and try to hit 100 mph fastballs and nasty wipe-out sliders. When he’s not doing that, he’s expected to snag slicing line drives or track down deep blasts that might require him to run into walls.

And he still doesn’t have anywhere near the most stressful, demanding job in the family.

That honor belongs to Mary Burleson, the outfielder’s new wife, who is a Pitt County sheriff near Greenville, N.C. While Alec often works in front of 50,000 fans in packed stadiums and national television audiences, Mary protects and serves the people of North Carolina mostly in anonymity. While Burleson takes great pride in his exceptional bat-to-ball skills -- he's tied for the team lead in hits this spring with nine -- he said he can’t compare what he does daily to the stuff Mary witnesses.

“She’s had some cool stories, some rough ones and some funny ones,” said Burleson, who noted he was limited in what stories he could share because of privacy and legal issues. “She sent me a picture the other day of a 500-pound pig walking down the road and she had to go out and corral it. She deals with funny things like that, but she also has to deal with some really serious stuff, too.”

Alec and Mary were apart much of last season, when Alec was an MLB rookie for the Cardinals and Mary was going through police academy training in North Carolina. In early November, the couple not only married, but also wrote their own vows, pledging their loyalty and love to one another.

“Alec Michael, today is the day I finally get to call you my husband and life partner,” Mary said during a wedding ceremony that left Alec often wiping tears. “You are everything that I wanted, but never thought I would find. You have shown me that love knows no bounds and distance is just a matter of miles.”

With Alec living and playing in St. Louis and Mary working several states away, the newlyweds try to bridge the gaps with phone calls and video chats. That’s easier done some days than others, and Alec said he usually goes to bed at night praying his wife doesn’t encounter too much chaos while on patrol.

“With us being on the road a lot, it can be nerve-wracking, knowing what she could be going through,” Burleson said. “She works days one month and nights the next month, and when she is working days, I can talk to her throughout the day. But at night, you just kind of wake up the next morning and hope that you don’t see a text on your phone or anything like that. But she has a lot of [support] there with friends and her [co-workers].”

As an MLB rookie, Burleson hit .244 with eight home runs and 36 RBIs, but those numbers belied how well he actually swung the bat. His expected batting average -- numbers calculated from exit velocity, launch angle and on certain types of batted balls, sprint speed -- was 33 points higher at .277. Similarly, Burleson’s slugging percentage was 59 points lower than his expected slugging percentage. Factor in his low whiff rate (17.7 percent, the top nine percent in baseball) and low strikeout rate (13 percent, the top five percent) and the Cardinals are confident that Burleson can have a big season now that he’s been thrust into a starting role with Lars Nootbaar (two rib fractures) out.

The Triple-A International League’s batting champion in 2022 (.331), Burleson is brimming with confidence that he can put up big numbers at the MLB level in ‘24.

“I mean, I’m going to hit, and I know I will hit in this league for a long time,” Burleson said. “I just need to cash in on the opportunities. I’m at the stage of my career where I need to fight for it, and I’m going to do that.”

When tough times hit -- meaning when Burleson’s not hitting -- he can put things into perspective by thinking about what Mary might be encountering during her nightly patrols. From the sound of it, she can be as tough on her hubby as she is on those breaking the law.

“She always says for me to block that [worry] out when I’m playing,” Burleson noted. “She always tells me, ‘Block out what I’m doing; I’ll do my thing and you go do your thing.’ It’s nerve-wracking for me, but she loves her job and she’s awesome.”