Part of Mark Buehrle’s appeal during his career was that he seemed just like a regular dude. Someone you could actually enjoy having a few beers with.
As the retired left-hander said in his new article on The Players’ Tribune, “I wasn’t a superstar athlete or pitching phenom. I was just a normal guy trying to do his job out there.”
Buehrle penned the entertaining read ahead of Saturday, when he’ll have his No. 56 retired by the Chicago White Sox. The 38-year-old began his career on the South Side, pitching there for 12 seasons before moving on to Miami and then Toronto.
The Missouri native shared some funny stories, including being locked in a bus bathroom during rookie hazing, roaming the Chicago streets like a madman looking for a place that sold suits and his phone call with former U.S. president Barack Obama after a 2009 perfect game.
“The president joked around with me some, and I remember laughing a bit and just grinning from ear to ear,” Buehrle recalled. “But I didn’t really talk much. Basically I was just telling myself: Don’t say anything stupid, Mark. Please, dude, don’t be dumb. Don’t mess this up.”
Those anecdotes were trumped, however, by the nugget he shared about pitching in Game 3 of the 2005 World Series against the Houston Astros … after downing several beers.
We’ll let Buehrle tell the story:
[blockquote] “First off, no one on the planet would’ve ever guessed that I was going to see the field in Game 3. I had started the previous game of the series and threw 100 pitches in that one. I would’ve bet my house that I wasn’t going to pitch a day and a half later. Anyone would have.
So, that being the case, you better believe that I was gonna do what came natural to me — grab a few beers during the early innings, kick back and enjoy the game like everyone else.
And it was just like one or two beers.
Every time I grabbed one, I’d go over and check in with the coaches.
“Hey, you guys are sure you’re not going to need me, right?”
“No, Mark. You are not pitching today. You just went.”
So I’d hear that and grab a beer.
It was only like three beers….
Max.
Definitely no more than three, though.
I swear.
Anyway, of course the game had to go 14 innings, right?
By the 11th, I began to get the feeling that something strange might be taking place. At that point, I started to bear down and prepare. And I was ready to pitch when my name was called.” [cite]Mark Buehrle, The Players’ Tribune[/cite] [/blockquote]
Buehrle earned the save after retiring the only batter he faced, Houston’s Adam Everett, via a pop up to shortstop. The White Sox went on to sweep the Astros in four games, as the southpaw earned the only championship ring of his career.
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