BOSTON -- Jake Burger is a busy man.

By day, and often by night, the rookie third baseman is figuring out ways to hit pitchers such as Shane Bieber and Gerrit Cole, while also refining his defensive craft. But along with that White Sox baseball career, Burger is finishing his undergraduate degree through Missouri State University.

Earning this college degree is one of the many parts of Burger’s life influenced by his mother, Shannon, who has been in the teaching profession for 31 years and has been a librarian for approximately the past 20 years.

“It’s a great profession and I hope I inspired him to finish his degree,” said Shannon Burger of her son’s continued education. “I’m always pushing, I’m always checking on him. Texting him, ‘How did the test go?’ He’s very proud of his grades, too. He’s a very good student and has been all along. So, we think it’s important that he does finish that degree.”

“I’m actually going back because I want to finish -- and part of it is for her,” Jake said. “She got me through a lot -- both academically and sports-wise. That voice always is there to give me support, no matter what I’m going through.”

International economics is Jake’s current class, leaving him nine hours short of getting a degree in Economics. He laughed at the idea of President Burger coming to fruition in a future election, but hopes to use the degree in some way in a related political field.

“Plan B during college was to obviously get that and maybe get into politics and write some economic policies,” Jake said. “I took a class in labor economics that I fell in love with. That side of things really interests me.”

“He’ll read books on the side about economics -- and even when he was injured, he would pick up a book about economics. It’s really neat to see,” Shannon said. “It’s kind of a passion of his.”

Burger was the White Sox top pick in the 2017 Draft (11th overall), but was out of action from 2018 until '21 with a pair of left Achilles ruptures and a left heel bruise. His mom, along with his father, Mike, and sister, Ellie, helped Jake deal with a sometimes-dark period he not only has talked about but has now used to help others through Twitter and through his ‘Burger B.O.M.B.S’ mental health initiative developed to give people a place to discuss their struggles and find solutions.

His mom also helped in Jake’s physical conditioning on the road back to baseball through 90-minute daily tennis matches, beginning during his time away from the game. Jake would have fun with the matches, asking followers on Instagram who they thought would win in that day’s competition. Shannon appreciated the Instagram support, but the 2001-02 University of Evansville Hall of Fame inductee as a tennis player admits Jake might have gotten the best of her in the overall series.

“I still think I’m 18 and can run and move like I used to, and I just can’t,” Shannon said. “He knew how to drop shot me. Once he figured it out, and once he figured out my weaknesses he could [exploit], he won. What’s really cool about Jake is he analyzes everything … He’s a lot like that in baseball, too -- analyzing everything and trying to figure it out, working hard and practicing.”

“Eventually we made it a thing and had our Instagram debate -- who’s going to win today and the postgame interviews and stuff,” Jake said. “We had a really good time with it. That only drew us closer. We were already close, but that made it even better.”

The Burger family was together in Detroit on July 2, 2021, when Jake had two hits in his Major League debut. They also will be together this weekend in Boston to celebrate Mother's Day.

“She’s my rock. I wouldn’t be where I’m at and the person I am today without her,” Jake said. “All that harping on getting homework in …. So, that, and then just kind [of her lessons about] how to carry myself. Always respect and love everyone you come in contact with. I learned a lot from her in that way, and she’s very, very special to me.”

“I couldn’t ask for a better son,” Shannon said. “I know he’s been through so much -- and the only way to come out of that, too, is to have that hopeful, positive mindset that he has.”