Mark Buehrle’s last career start may not have gone as planned, but the 36-year-old has capped off another solid season to end his impressive career.
Today was Mark Buehrle's 493rd career start, and it's the 1st time he didn't finish the 1st inning.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 4, 2015
Buehrle quietly announced this week the 2015 season would be his last. The 36-year-old didn’t want the Derek Jeter treatment, and have a sappy farewell tour, so retiring on his own terms would be a fitting ending to his great career.
The St. Charles, Missouri, native has followed an unlikely path to success. He was a 38th round draft pick by the Chicago White Sox in the 1998 amateur draft who didn’t throw particularly hard, but had great control of his pitches. In just two seasons, he was promoted to The Show, and had success almost immediately. In his first full season with the White Sox in 2001, he won 16 games with a solid 3.29 ERA.
He pitched over 200 innings, barely walked anybody, and maintained his success through command and being an elite fielder at his position. His success continued through doing what he does best, throwing a boatload of innings, leading the AL in 2004 and 2005, and keeping his pitches in the strike zone. In 2005, on a somewhat storied team led by manager Ozzie Guillen and the bats of Paul Konerko, A.J. Pierzynski, and Jermaine Dye, the White Sox made the World Series, and Buehrle became the first pitcher ever to record a start and a save on consecutive nights during the Fall Classic, which the Sox won. This year former White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper confirmed Buehrle was drinking during his Game 3 start, which kind of fits perfectly with the blue collar attitude he projects on the field.
Buehrle continued to be a workhorse through the mid-2000’s, consistently reaching 200 innings every season despite giving up a ton of hits, which would be problematic for other pitchers, but not for him. His numbers never wavered, with his ERA never reaching higher than 4.99, but never reaching lower than 3.12 through his entire career.
He threw a no-hitter in 2007, but what people remember is his perfect game with the White Sox in 2009. In the ninth inning, with the perfect game on the line, Buehrle served up what should have been a homer, and utility outfielder Dewayne Wise, who was a defensive replacement in the game, made what’s considered to be one of the greatest catches in MLB history to preserve the perfect game.
Buehrle was no slouch in the field himself, earning the first of four consecutive (and five total) Gold Glove that year. After two more seasons with the Sox, Buehrle earned signed a four-year deal with the Miami Marlins, a team who was all-in on bringing the World Series back to Florida. The Marlins being the Marlins, quickly abandoned that plan, and traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays after just one season.
In three seasons in Toronto, Buehlre has come as advertised. He’s hit 200 innings twice (just missing the mark in 2015), won 10+ games each season, and became a leader to Blue Jays youngsters, especially Marcus Stroman.
Love this man. #PapaBuehrle @BlueJays pic.twitter.com/EBW1NTfisk
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) October 3, 2015
So if this is the last this season for Buehlre, he’s had one hell of a career. He’s put together 15 of the most consistent seasons collectively you’ll ever see from a MLB pitcher. Has he ever put up ridiculous ace-esque numbers? No. But what made him great was he was a true competitor, always ready to give whatever team he was playing for a chance to win, and while that might not get him to the Hall of Fame, it’s a truly special quality.
