Beer and Mark Buehrle have always gone hand in hand.
The popular drink and the former left-hander for the Chicago White Sox have been tied at the top in team history since their first major league win, on July 19, 2000, in the old Metrodome in Minneapolis, when Buehrle received the traditional beer shower. .
“Sox wait, and the Bears are on Buehrle” was the headline of my Chicago Tribune report that day.
Fast forward 25 years, and it’s the same old story.
Buehrle loves beer.
Fans at Friday’s SoxFest Live event at Bridgeport’s Ramova Theater were given “Beer on Buehrle” vouchers, promising to buy a round for everyone in the house after Buehrle announced the dedication of the Buehrle statue at Sox Park on July 11. Had done.
“I like to drink an adult beverage, so I figure they might as well share in it,” Buehrle explained to reporters, hinting that the Sox helped pick up the tab.
No word yet on the loss, but it would go a way to beat Jon Lester’s bye round for Cubs fans in 2020, when his free-beer tab totaled $31,082. Lester added a $16,012 tip, bringing the total to $47,094.
Buehrle famously participated in downing several adult beverages during Game 3 of the 2005 World Series in Houston after he was assured he would not be taken out of the bullpen to start Game 2. Naturally, manager Ozzie Guillen threw Buehrle into the game. 14th inning, two outs and two men in for Damaso Marte. Buehrle induced a popup to Adam Everett for the save in the 7–5 victory, giving the Sox a 3–0 lead in their four-game sweep.
The story became as much of a legend as the pitcher itself, and has been embellished over the years.
“It was only like three beers,” Buehrle later wrote in The Players’ Tribune. “Max. However, definitely not more than three. “I swear.”
Sox fans would have forgiven Buehrle, even if he had “misremembered” the moment. He said he never got any grief from Sox fans for pitching in during the discussion, writing: “I think part of it has to do with the fact that the guys out there really love their beer. They understand. Went.”
By fact-checking it, we can confirm that Sox fans really do like their beer.
Buehrle came up as a 21-year-old Missouri boy in the summer of 2000, when I was the Tribune’s Sox beat writer. In that first major league start in the Metrodome, he pitched seven innings in a 3–2 victory over the Minnesota Twins, helping extend their division lead over Cleveland to 10½ games. His pitching line was two runs on six hits with five strikeouts and a walk, and he stranded seven base runners. They also selected Corey Koski first overall, a signature move we’ll see in years to come.
Hoping to show confidence in the kid, manager Jerry Manuel released Buehrle after the rookie hit out a batter with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth. Buehrle then inspired a popup. We didn’t know it then, but he would be “classic Buehrle”, a pitcher who always performed at his best under pressure. Two no-hitters, examples A and B, including a perfect game.
After that rookie debut he got the traditional beer shower, followed two days later by a post-game beer shower for 20-year-old starter John Garland, who had defeated the Milwaukee Brewers for his first career win. I wrote that president Jerry Reinsdorf should have the team “just keep a few kegs on hand” for future postgame ceremonies for Sox pitching prospects.
My unsolicited advice fell on deaf ears, but beer keg or not, Buehrle was determined to stay.
Buehrle later said, “It’s good to get that first guy out of the way.” “Hopefully there will be more to come.”
Were there. He amassed 214 regular season wins, including 161 wins with the Sox, not to mention Game 2 of the ’05 World Series, which led to the aforementioned Bears break in Game 3.
Buehrle was primarily used out of the bullpen as a rookie in 2000, but pitched over 200 innings over the next 14 consecutive seasons with the Sox, Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays. He missed his 15th consecutive season of 200 innings by just four outs in 2015, his final year ending at 198.2 innings.
Numbers aside, perhaps no Sox player was as easy-going as Buehrle, who was a sentiment beer-wise, body-wise and lawn-mowing fans alike. Buehrle said he was mowing the lawn last year when Reinsdorf called to give him the news of his statue.
He doesn’t watch much baseball anymore but said “the speed of the game is unbelievable” with the pitch-clock rules. He also believes that limiting the number of throws to first is “the stupidest rule ever invented.” Sox fans greatly appreciated Buehrle’s fast pitching, which was part of their love of his approach to baseball.
Buehrle arrived at the perfect time in Sox history, just as one of their rebuilds had turned the corner, leading to the only championship of our lifetime. Celebrating 20 years of the 2005 championship team this season will bring back many memories, and certainly a beer or two will be raised along the way.
The dedication of the Buehrle statue on July 11 is already the most anticipated event of another season of Sox rebuilding.
“It’s home, no matter where you put it,” Buehrle, 45, said Friday. “I have spent most of my career here and would love to end it here. But that’s business and everything that goes with it. I love coming back here.”
Next up for a ballpark statue should be Ozzie Guillen, the only Sox manager to win a championship in our lifetime.
It’s too late.