Two Sartell Muskies are back from surgeries to play in the region tournament
SARTELL — Since 2005, Tim Burns has hit in the heart of the Sartell Muskies' lineup, but he felt something was wrong in the first two games this spring.
“I took myself out of the second one (May 7 against Clear Lake) because I could tell something wasn't right,” Burns said. “Then that's when I went in, and they said that I had a very mild heart attack. We went in for an angiogram to look and I had six blockages. I had to get a quintuple bypass.”
On Saturday, Burns made his return to the Minnesota Baseball Association Class C diamond for the first time since his operation in May, penciled in as the designated hitter. It was his 38th birthday and he recorded a single in the 9-4 home win over Becker.
Sartell is hosting the Region 11C tournament this weekend at St Cloud Orthopedics Field and the Muskies play St. Joseph at 11 a.m., Saturday. After three months of recovery from open heart surgery, Burns plans to be available again if needed. He said what brought him back was, “this field, this sport and my teammates.”
“Not seeing them during the summer is tough,” he said. “That’s why I can’t retire quite yet.”
Unfortunately, Burns wasn’t the only Muskie whose season was interrupted by major surgery. Pitcher David Deminsky had made six bullpen appearances since returning from repairs to his L4 and L5 vertebrae in 2021.
“Basically, I had to have part of a disc removed because it was pushing up on a nerve,” he said.
The former St. Cloud State and St. Cloud River Bats standout made his debut June 11 and he has not allowed a single run in nine innings pitched this season. He’s made three saves and struck out 14 batters while only walking two.
Deminsky was nervous to start throwing after the back repair, but he wanted to be able to play catch with son, Dresden, 2, when he’s old enough. Being available for the Muskies is almost as important. Deminsky said he has approval from his wife, Angela, but plans to shut it down if he feels even a twinge.
Burns said his doctors cleared him for a return to baseball, as long as he took it slow and manageable. In fact, he feels “a heck of a lot” better than he has in years.
“Probably eight years ago, I started feeling kind of winded and I got tested but they didn’t find anything, and I just got used to that feeling,” he said.
During Burns’ surgery, doctors took arteries from other parts of his body to bypass the six blockages. He took batting practice a few days before the matchup with the Bandits and felt ready to step into the batter's box.
Burns has played in 13 state tournaments with the team, including the 2013 championship run. He holds himself to a high hitting standard — this season he has five hits in 11 at-bats, including two doubles. He’s also batted two runs in and drawn two walks. Last summer he hit .360 with a .482 on-base percentage in 89 at-bats. His 32 hits in 25 games were second only to teammate Andrew Deters.
Between their time at Apollo and at Sartell, Deminsky has either played with or coached all of his teammates for several seasons. A 2006 graduate, he coached the pitchers for the Sartell Sabers during the 2023 season, when they won their section and played in a second-straight Class 4A tournament.
Burns graduated three years earlier and both have coached dozens of baseball players from around the area, including for the Muskies and their opponents. The Muskies and their families often get together throughout the year for crawfish boils, hockey games or just hanging out over beers. Deminsky and Burns were in each other’s wedding and other teammates have been groomsmen for each other as well.
“Even opponents we run into have been very kind,” Deminsky said. “They’ve said, ‘Hey, it’s good to see you back on the field.’ That’s been an eye-opener.”
Burns called Muskie games a family affair, with wife Brittny Burns and two-year-old daughter Ryleigh coming out to support. The family also has a baby on the way.
“Baseball is something I’ve loved my whole life and trying to leave it is going to be tough,” Burns said. “We also have the state tourney streak we want to keep alive. We’ve made it from 2012 until now.”
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Two Sartell Muskies back from surgeries to play in the region tourney
