He pitched from 1987 to 2003, with the San Francisco Giants, Florida Marlins, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox.

He pitched 3 shutout innings to close out a 6–4 Giants victory over the Padres, saving the game for starting pitcher Mike LaCoss.

After being released in Spring Training by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2000, he was picked up by the Atlanta Braves and resurrected a career thought by many to be over.

His 3.04 ERA ranked third in all of MLB for 2001, he struck out a career-high 187 batters, and he was selected for his second NL All-Star Game that season.

Despite the Braves winning their division that season, poor run support in Burkett's starts led to a modest 12–12 record.

Burkett won Game 3 of the 2001 NL Divisional Series against the Houston Astros, allowing two runs in 6+1⁄3 innings.

[4] On July 28, 2022, Burkett won his first national PBA50 Tour championship at the PBA50 South Shore Classic held at Olympia Lanes in Hammond, Indiana.