“Zero clue who the hell that is” - Fans react to White Sox naming Sean Burke as their Opening Day starter

MLB fans reacted as the Chicago White Sox announced right-hander Sean Burke as their Opening Day starting pitcher. The White Sox are set to face the LA Angels on March 27.

Burke made his major league debut last year, appearing in four games, including three starts. He pitched 19 innings, recording a 2-0 record with a 1.42 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP and 22 strikeouts.

On Sunday, the White Sox officially announced their Opening Day starters, and several fans apparently had never heard of Sean Burke.

“I’m going to be honest here, I have zero clue who the hell that is,” a fan said.

“Y’all just asking random dudes from Hegewisch if they want to pitch?” another fan said.

“I play in three fantasy baseball leagues, super nerdy, and I’ve never heard of this guy,” another fan said.

Many other fans expressed disappointment:

“I was expecting it to be Davis Martin. Wow,” one said.

“This is actually sad,” another commented.

“125 years of White Sox baseball led us to this moment,” another added.

The 2025 season is particularly special for the White Sox, as it marks the franchise’s 125th anniversary. Heading into the season, the team hopes to rebound from a disastrous 2024 campaign, in which they posted a league-worst 41-121 record — the worst in modern MLB history

Sean Burke reacts to being named White Sox opening day starter

Sean Burke was selected by the White Sox in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft. Speaking about being named the Opening Day starter, he told the Chicago Tribune:

“Obviously everyone wants to be the opening-day guy coming into camp. I would be lying if I said that wasn’t the goal coming in or in the future for my career. Everybody wants to do that at some point."

“But I knew coming into camp, there is a ton of deserving guys for this and guys with more experience. So, I think that it’s nice the rest of the staff congratulated me and everybody was super supportive. Surprised, but definitely thankful and grateful for it.”

So far in spring training, Burke has started three games, pitching 8 2/3 innings with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP.