Burke was not only an all-star (not with the Mets unfortunately) but he was also a deeply religious and charitable person. He and his wife adopted four children and he gave up his career to raise his kids.
In Mets lore, he is likely known mostly for being traded to the Mets from the Expos for Mets legend, Ron Darling. He was acquired on July 15th, 1991 and had a 3 and 3 record with the Mets with a 2.72 ERA. His 1992 numbers with the Mets--not so good. Before being traded to the Yankees for 'Big' Lee Gutterman (there was a rule back then that whenever you referenced Lee Gutterman, you had to put 'Big' before his name), he posted a 1 and 2 record with a 5.74 ERA.
He was certainly a good pitcher in his day especially his years with the Expos, but he also seems like an exemplary and charitable person which means a hell of a lot more than a baseball career (at least sometimes).
The Mets Baseball Birthday Quote of the Day was a question to Burke about what kind of baseball player he thought Jesus Christ would be,
"If Jesus was on the field, he'd be pitching inside and breaking up the double play."
--Tim Burke
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