Imrem: Is Hall of Fame next for Buehrle? He doesn't need it
Amid all of last week's comings and goings, leave it to ever-stable Mark Buehrle to lend stability to Chicago sports.
Buehrle's No. 56 jersey isn't coming or going: The Chicago White Sox retired it over the weekend, a bit of permanence the local landscape needed.
The ceremony was quite an honor for Buehrle, who as a starting pitcher was remarkably dependable during 12 seasons with the Sox.
Now, how about another honor … as in can a case be made for Buehrle to make baseball's Hall of Fame?
I have a vote and felt compelled to crunch Buehrle's numbers three years before he's eligible for Cooperstown.
Then something struck me in mid crunch.
The Hall of Fame doesn't matter.
OK, so it does matter because every athlete would like to receive his or her sport's highest honor.
But it looked like Cooperstown wouldn't be close to No. 1 on No. 56's list of career and life moments.
Higher would be the pride on the faces of Buehrle's son Braden and daughter Brooklyn as speakers praised their father in Sox Park.
Then Buehrle matched their prideful look as Braden sang the national anthem and Brooklyn threw a strike on the ceremonial first pitch.
The mightiest measure of a man is how he treats the mother of his children and what those children think of him.
Facial expressions, body language and interaction between Buehrle and his kids reflected mutual love.
If Buehrle and his family were faking affection for each other … well, they're ready for Hollywood or Broadway.
Next on the list of Mark Buehrle's greatest honors has to be how much Sox fans admire him.
My goodness, fans bought 38,618 tickets to witness the retirement of No. 56. That's almost double the average attendance at Sox home games.
A full ballpark is what an athlete gets in retirement if he treated people - managers, coaches, support staff, teammates, fans, media, ushers, concessionaires, everyone - the way Buehrle treated people.
It's similar to the way David Ross conducted himself during two seasons with the Cubs, except that Buehrle did it consistently for 12 with the Sox.
The thing about Buehrle during his time with the Sox was how effortless it was for him to be him. Being genuinely respectful of the game and those around it is how an athlete winds up with his number retired with an abnormally large crowd sharing the experience with him.
Many better players than Buehrle weren't honored like that because they didn't do what it took to be so beloved.
The looks on the faces of Buehrle's kids - and on his wife's and parents' - were precious.
Meanwhile, the cheers of those 38,618 White Sox fans in the ballpark were priceless.
As for the Hall of Fame, I'm big on signature moments in a player's career, and Buehrle had a bunch of them: no-hitter, perfect game, 214 regular-season victories, 2 playoff victories, a World Series save, a between-the-legs flip for an out too freakish to fully describe …
Still, to be honest, I can't quite make that case for Buehrle to be in Cooperstown.
Perhaps in three years I'll see it differently.
But it really isn't all that important.
At least not as important as the love Mark Buehrle received from family and friends as his White Sox No. 56 was retired.
mimrem@dailyherald.com