What's in a name? Burger crowned King of the Sliders

This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola's Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MIAMI -- Jake Burger couldn’t contain his smirk during his home run trot on Tuesday night at loanDepot park.

Hours earlier, Burger had sat on a throne adorned with newly released Marlins-branded Burger King crowns. Fans visiting the ballpark also received them as a gate giveaway.

“I thought it was really funny that everybody was wearing Burger King crowns, and it's just fitting that I hit one tonight,” Burger said. “I think [on] National Burger Day I'm hitting pretty well, too. Any time anything with hamburgers [is] involved, I feel like I always have a chance for a good night.”

Burger would be correct. He is 6-for-13 with one home run during his big league career on International Burger Day, which is celebrated annually on May 28.

Making the swing more amusing to Burger? It was a two-strike sweeper – or a type of slider – from Red Sox starter Kutter Crawford that Burger deposited over the left-field wall in the fifth inning of an eventual 8-3 loss.

Among Major Leaguers with at least 20 plate appearances ending on a slider entering Thursday, Burger was tied with 10 others – including Fernando Tatis Jr. and Kyle Schwarber – with a six-run value on the pitch. According to Baseball Savant, run value is the run impact of an event based on the runners on base, outs, ball and strike count. His expected slugging percentage (.566) ranks 17th, one spot above Manny Machado (.563).

Both metrics are tracking better than last season, when Burger broke out during a 34-homer campaign. He was tied with three others for the 12th-highest run value (9) and 90th in xSLG (.451). His hard-hit percentage (52.2%) was higher in 2023 compared to ’24 (44.8%).

“I'm not really sure,” Burger said of his success on sliders. “I think in the offseason, we always focus on getting which pitch we want to hit in certain at-bats and whatnot. I think, fortunately, I've gotten some in the zone, where I can do something with, and giving myself a chance in certain counts to be able to get those pitches. I don't think it's anything I'm really focusing on. It's more just, I'm happening to get the pitches to do something with.”

Burger, who has struggled at the plate this season (career-low .618 OPS) and also missed three weeks with a left intercostal muscle strain, hopes he is turning the corner.

In facing what he called the best pitching staff in the Majors, Burger went 5-for-17 (.294) with one double and one homer in a four-game series against Philadelphia over the weekend. Despite a three-strikeout performance on Saturday, he didn’t change his approach or mindset on Sunday. Following Monday’s off-day, Burger collected a two-hit game in the series opener versus Boston. He collected a hit on Wednesday and also tallied a 93.5 mph lineout.

“I've had a great support system through this,” Burger said. “Obviously, nobody wants to go through underperforming, but the support system I've had with the guys in the cage, this coaching staff and then obviously my family has been huge.”