CHICAGO – The Chicago White Sox plan to unveil a statue of Mark Buehrle when they celebrate their 2005 World Series winning team at Rate Field on July 11.
Buehrle pitched for Chicago for the first 12 of his 16 seasons in the majors. Known for working quickly with spot control, the left-hander went 161-119 with a 3.83 ERA in 390 appearances with the White Sox, including 365 starts.
The White Sox announced Buehrle’s honor during the team’s fan festival on Friday. He was retired No. 56 by the franchise in 2017.
“It’s an incredible honor,” Buehrle said. “To put a statue, of me, there, forever. I guess the number could be unretired and taken out and put it back in play. But the statue, unless someone tears it down or does something, it will still be there. »
Buehrle, 45, put on his old uniform and made a few throws to help the sculptor with the statue’s details.
“I’m not going to lie. It was really good – for the 10 minutes I did it. A few hours later, it didn’t feel good,” cracked a smiling Buehrle.
Buehrle pitched for Miami and Toronto after leaving 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 received 45 votes (11.4%) in his fifth year on the Hall of Fame ballot for the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
“I’m literally honored to be on the ballot these years,” he said. “I just got my name on the first one, I was like, ‘Man, if I can just stay for another year,’” Buehrle said. »And now we are going into the 6th grade. I mean literally give me goosebumps. It’s crazy.
Buehrle played a key role in Chicago’s last World Series title. He posted a career 16-8 record with a 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 playoff appearances, including three starts.
He got the save when he came in and retired Adam Everett on a popup for the final out of the 14th inning in a 7-5 Houston win in Game 3 of the World Series.
“Every time you go out there, you’re trying to win a World Series. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t,” Buehrle said. “I feel like these fans are and the way they talk to you about this year, they start tearing up and shaking when they talk to you about it, yeah, you can definitely feel how it affects everyone.”