Pirates' Burnett on final season: 'I might get a bucket of gum from somebody'

Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander A.J. Burnett doesn't want, nor does he feel he's deserving of the year-long send off similar to what New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter received last season. 

Burnett, who is set to pitch in his 16th and final season in the majors, is just hoping to put in his work and retire without the spectacle. 

"First of all, that's Derek Jeter," Burnett told Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune. "I might get a bucket of gum from somebody. I don't want anything. It's not really a farewell tour. It's my last season playing ball. When I think of farewell tours, I think of Cal Ripken, Derek Jeter - guys who are Hall of Famers. Mine is just ... I'm done."

Burnett took less money to return to Pittsburgh this season, opting out of his guaranteed $12.5-million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies in order to have a chance at winning a second World Series. 

"I want to win as my gift," Burnett said. "I don't need any gifts except the gift of October."

The 38-year-old admitted that he was the one to reach out to Pirates general manager Neal Huntington in hopes of a reunion, but he wasn't sure how it would be received after leaving Pittsburgh for their state rivals last winter. 

"He probably wasn't expecting me to call," Burnett said. "I knew it wasn't going to be easy, due to the fact that I left. So I'm wondering, 'Man, would they want me back or not?' I didn't know."