CHICAGO (AP) — Mark Buehrle posed for several pictures with his new statue. By himself. With his family. With a large contingent of his former teammates from one of the greatest years in Chicago White Sox history.
Everyone wanted to hold on to the moment.
A sculpture of Buehrle in his pitching motion was unveiled at Rate Field on Friday night as part of a celebration of the 20th anniversary of Chicago’s 2005 World Series championship. The left-hander watched as his family pulled a black tarp off the statue in right field, cheered on by a crowd dotted with No. 56 Buehrle jerseys and shirts.
Buehrle, 46, played for Chicago for the first 12 of his 16 seasons in the majors. Known for working quickly with pinpoint control, he went 161-119 with a 3.83 ERA in 390 appearances with the White Sox, including 365 starts.
He had his number retired by the team in 2017.
“I literally went out there and played just because I love baseball and I love competing,†Buehrle said. “All the numbers and all that stuff comes of it, but you never think of this number retirement, statue. Like, that’s just, I can’t even wrap my head around it. Like it just doesn’t make sense.â€
After the statue ceremony, Buehrle and his family got into a truck and waved to the crowd they traveled around the warning track. Buehrle caught a ceremonial first pitch from his daughter, Brooklyn, and his son, Braden, performed the national anthem before Chicago’s game against Cleveland.
Buehrle enjoyed having his family involved with the festivities. All the attention, well, not so much.
“I hate it. I was literally nervous as can be all day today,†he said. “Got three hours of sleep last night. Couldn’t eat all day today. Sick to my stomach. This stuff ... this is not my comfortable zone.â€
Of course, Buehrle always looked quite comfortable on the mound. He joined Freddy GarcÃa, Jon Garland and José Contreras in a formidable rotation that played a major role in Chicago’s last World Series title.
Buehrle posted a 16-8 record with a career-low 3.12 ERA in 33 starts, helping the White Sox win the 2005 AL Central. Then he went 2-0 with a 3.47 ERA in four postseason appearances, including three starts.
Buehrle, Contreras, GarcÃa and Garland each pitched a complete game in the AL Championship Series against the Angels.
“I’ll take that team against pretty much anybody,†former White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. “I mean, 11-1 in the postseason. Four complete games in the ALCS, you’ll never see that again.â€
Asked what it was like to catch Buehrle, Pierzynski responded: “Fast.â€
“Mark was the best,†he said. “Mark didn’t shake. You got the ball. He didn’t do scouting reports. He just got it and threw it.â€
Buehrle made two appearances in Chicago’s World Series sweep against Houston. He pitched seven innings of four-run ball in Game 2. He also picked up a save when he retired Adam Everett on a popup for the final out of the 14th inning in a 7-5 win at Houston in Game 3.
Former White Sox slugger Jermaine Dye called Buehrle a great teammate and leader.
“Definitely someone you would want on your ballclub to lead a pitching staff, and be that No. 1 starter and give him that ball at any point in time,†Dye said.
Buehrle pitched for Miami and ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ after departing Chicago. The five-time All-Star finished with a 214-160 record and a 3.81 ERA over 3,283 1/3 innings, to go along with four Gold Gloves. He struck out 1,870 and walked 734.
He was reunited with the 2005 White Sox in the wake of Bobby Jenks’ death at age 44. The former closer in Portugal, where he was being treated for adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer.
“I’m sure I’ve lost teammates over the years, but losing somebody like that,” Buehrle said. “He’s a little kid in a big-man body, always goofing off, always having fun. Not having him here and hearing that news, it hit me a little bit harder than I thought it would when I first heard of it. It’s definitely very sad.â€
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