By Bruce Levine —
CHICAGO (CBS) — Staying in character is what a humble man from St. Charles, Missouri is all about. Mark Buehrle was given his jersey retirement day at a ballpark that, when he played there, was called U.S Cellular field.
“This was an amazing day and an amazing feeling,” Buehrle said after his pre-game ceremony was completed. “You really can’t put into words how you feel. I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be when I got up there. I am glad it is over with, but it was obviously a special day.”
Two trucks and a few artifacts from the past, including the ball that Dwayne Wise caught to save his perfect game, was presented to the former star pitcher. The ovation by 38,000 fans in attendance meant as much to Buehrle as any of the gifts, saying, “It was always about the great fans of the Chicago White Sox.”
With his wife, Jamie, and children, Braden and Brooklyn, in tow, the 37-year-old former White Sox thanked everyone in the crowd. The on-field guests included family, past teammates, clubhouse and training staff personnel.
Buehrle paid homage to the clubhouse staff because, to him, they were equally as important as the owner, Mr. Reinsdorf and the White Sox brass.
That was the essence of Mark Buehrle. The man of the people.
“Those people were a big part of my life,” Buehrle said about the clubhouse men and trainers. “Those guys took care of me and my family for all of those years. It was everyone — coaches, scouts, players. They were all a part of my life, and helped me get to where I was.”
The future for Buehrle consists of watching his kids grow up, fishing and hunting, and playing first base for his Beer League softball team.
This author of 214 major league victories never took any of it for granted. Everyday, including this day his No. 56 was retired, is special to him.
“Frank Thomas and Jim Thome are sitting behind me, and they are retiring my number. It all doesn’t make sense to me,” he said. “After seeing the number show up there, I had a lot of emotions. I started to breathe deep and started to tear up. I was just trying to keep my emotions together. Looking up there and seeing that — I just can’t put those emotions into words.”
Buehrle’s kids were a big part of the show. Braden sang the National Anthem and Brooklyn threw out the first pitch; both of which made dad proud.
“That was so awesome. I was more nervous for me than for them,” he said before adding, “but I was confident in them.”
‘No regrets’ is easy for Buehrle to say after such a memorable day. Like all ballplayers, he had his bad moments.
“I had some games and performances where I thought I would never be good again,” he said. “I also had times where I was booed off the field and thought I would pack up and go home to St Louis. There were some down times. I just tried to stay even keeled.”
from CBS Chicago http://ift.tt/2tGTYZ9
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