Buehrle at a loss for words as Chicago White Sox retire No. 56
On the most monumental day of his professional life Saturday, Mark Buehrle was prepared when he arrived at Guaranteed Rate Field.
He was wearing sunglasses.
"I was just surprised and shocked and emotion hit me, and that's why I had my glasses on," Buehrle said after having his Chicago White Sox uniform No. 56 retired. "A couple of guys said, 'You're afraid you're going to be crying out there.'
"But it's just one of those things where I was trying to soak everything in and it was like, 'Why is this happening? You're bringing a truck out here for me. Why are you bringing a four-wheeler for me? You've retired my number, that's enough.'
"Again, everything, trying to soak everything in. I don't know. Can't put it in words."
Surrounded by his wife, Jamie, son Braden, daughter Brooklyn, his parents, former managers Jerry Manuel and Ozzie Guillen and ex-teammates that included Frank Thomas, Jon Garland, Joe Crede, Jim Thome and Scott Podsednik, an emotional Buehrle stood behind the on-field podium before the Sox lost to the Oakland Athletics and offered up his heartfelt thanks in a speech that lasted less than five minutes.
"Just having these people out here, everyone of them touched some part of my career and had something to do with where I'm at and why I was standing out there today," Buehrle said.
TV broadcaster Ken "Hawk" Harrelson emceed the ceremony, with White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper, Thomas and chairman Jerry Reinsdorf all making speeches before Buehrle.
"I don't need paper," Thomas said. "I don't need paper. I could talk for two or three hours about this guy. When you look up a baseball player, it should be Mark Buehrle in the dictionary."
Reinsdorf has a dry sense of humor, and it was on display when he stepped up to talk about his former left-handed starter. Looking up at the sold-out crowd, Reinsdorf raved about Buehrle's popularity with the fan base.
"In case you aren't aware of it," Reinsdorf said, "we don't draw 40,000 people every day."
Reinsdorf then chided Buehrle for always pitching at such a rapid pace, blaming him for "killing concession sales."
In addition to getting a new truck and ATV, there were a lot of laughs, a lot of hugs and a lot of tears, particularly when Buehrle's children joined the festivities.
Braden sang the national anthem, drawing loud applause from the crowd. Brooklyn threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
"That was awesome," Buehrle said. "I was more nervous for me. Everybody kept asking, 'Are you nervous for your son and daughter?' No, because Braden the whole time said, 'I'm ready to go, let's do this.'
"I was more nervous for me, and once I was done I was like, 'Oh, (crud), now they're going to have to step in and do their thing.' I was a little more nervous, but I was confident they could do it."
Guillen drew the second-loudest applause of the afternoon. He was Buehrle's manager from 2004-11 with the White Sox and 2012 with the Miami Marlins.
"I get along with so many players, it's hard to say No. 1, No. 2, No. 3," Guillen said. "But in my career he's No. 1 because he pitched for me my first year and he pitched for me in my last day in my career. Like I always say, you have four guys like him, go out and pitch and don't worry about anything. Just throw the ball, get people out and have fun.
"I've never seen him upset. I've never seen him overreact. Day in and day out he was the same guy. That's what makes him so special. His teammates loved him. Buehrle did something; he outsmarted people."
Buehrle needed the sunglasses when his No. 56 was unveiled behind home plate. He's the 11th player in Sox history to have his number retired.
"It was actually seeing it come open, pulling it off and seeing my name and number up there," Buehrle said. "Emotions and trying to breathe deep and don't start crying, tearing up. I was trying to hold my emotions together. But just looking up there and seeing that, I can't put it into words."