For Burke, break makes the batting average prosper

Life is anything but stable during a season in which you’ve played for three different teams in three different leagues, but for Mark Burke, there was always one constant.

Whether he was playing a game at home or on the road, girlfriend Chrystie Fitchner was always in the stands to cheer him on and film his at-bats. The former collegiate volleyball player from Winnipeg, Manitoba, never missed a game.

That was, until the end of a home series against Brockton earlier this month, when Fitchner found out she had to return home sooner than expected to get ready for her new job as a high school physical education teacher.

Her absence has had an effect on Burke, but maybe not the way you’d expect.

Since Fitchner flew back to Winnipeg on Aug. 8, Burke has been one of Bangor’s hottest hitters.

“No … No, no, no. That’s pure coincidence,” Burke said with a wide grin. “No one’s mentioned that. I enjoyed having her here and it was more a matter of at-bats piling up for me.”

Burke hit .390 in the 12 games following Fitchner’s departure, raising his average from .275 to .323. He had 14 RBIs, five runs, three doubles and two home runs, including a grand slam, in that span.

“She actually wrote me an e-mail that said, ‘I must have been bad luck.’ So I wrote back and said, ‘No honey, you’re not bad luck,’ ” said Burke. “It was just, for me, a matter of seeing live pitching each day and getting into a groove.”

Bangor is the third team the Lumberjacks’ designated hitter-first baseman-outfielder has played for this season after stints in the Central League with the Amarillo (Texas) Dillas and the Northern League with the Lincoln (Neb.) SaltDogs.

“Once I got the comfortable feeling that I’m not going anywhere, that’s when I really relaxed and all the final pieces to the puzzle fell into place,” Burke said.

Taking a shot at CITGO

Portland Sea Dogs outfielder Justin Sherrod became the first player to hit a home run off the reproduction CITGO sign sitting above the Maine Monster at Hadlock Field in Portland.

Sherrod’s home run to left field in the second inning of an Aug. 7 game against the Binghamton Mets was a first, and as a result of the blast, the 25-year-old Boynton Beach, Fla., native and a lucky fan split a jackpot of $5,800 in gas from CITGO. The home run “pot” had accumulated for 58 games at $100 per game.

Shawn Seeley of Bath was the lucky fan whose game program had the Sea Dogs stamp on the CITGO ad. Seeley got a nice $2,895 return on his $5 investment in a souvenir program. Seeley is married with three children.

Portland selling playoff tickets

The Sea Dogs have begun selling tickets for the 2003 Eastern League playoffs. Tickets for both the Northern Division and Eastern League Championship Series are available.

The top two teams in the EL’s Northern and Southern divisions qualify for postseason play. The Sea Dogs are currently in second place in the Northern Division and New Haven (Conn.) is first. The Sea Dogs play 10 of their final 14 games at Hadlock Field.

Playoff tickets will be priced at the same rate as regular season tickets. Box-seat tickets are $8 for an adult, while seniors (62 and older) and children (16 and younger) can have a box seat for $7. Other seating options include reserved seating at $7 (adults) and $6 (children and seniors). General admission seats are $6 for adults and $3 for kids and seniors. Group rates are available for 20 or more.

Tickets can be purchased at the Hadlock Field ticket office or by phone at 879-9500. This would mark the first time since 1997 that the Sea Dogs would qualify for the playoffs.

Lumberjacks set roster

The signing of right-handed pitcher Chris Clark by the Bangor Lumberjacks last week is the last addition the Northeast League club will make in the regular season.

The 6-foot-1 Clark, a 10-year veteran of minor league ball, was 1-2 with a 5.12 ERA in seven starts with New Jersey this season. He notched his 500th career strikeout earlier this season while with the Jackals.

Clark replaced starter-turned-closer Jeff Sparks, who was placed on the inactive list for personal reasons. Right-handed starter Jerry Long also was placed on the list in order for the team to retain his rights for the 2004 season.

Bangor will not retain the rights to first baseman Jude Voltz, who was released Sunday after having been placed on the inactive list in the first half of the season.

Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600, or aneff@bangordailynews.net