Mark Buehrle Drank Beer Before World Series Relief Appearance
By Mike Cardillo
Let me start this post off saying that professional baseball starting pitcher is a great job … if you can get it. Nowadays thanks to baseball’s never-ending salary inflation someone like Rick Porcello can get an $80 million contract based mostly on potential. No, it’s not easy to be a pitcher in the big leagues, but think about how much free time you have on the days you don’t pitch. The famed Atlanta Braves staff of the 1990s were all avid golfers. As we know now, the ill-fated Bobby Valentine era Red Sox staff of 2011 liked to sit in the clubhouse with beer, chicken and video games.
A lot of days all you have to do is show up, put on your uniform, do some tossing or stretching and hang out, watching the game. That doesn’t sound too bad to me.
This takes us to Mark Buehrle and the mostly forgotten 2005 World Series. Earlier this week Buehrle, now with the Jays, pitched against his former team, the White Sox. CSN Chicago interviewed White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper about the Series and about how Buehrle pitched into the seventh inning of Game 2 but came back to notch the save in Game 3, getting the final out in the 14th inning via an Adam Everett pop-up.
The story is pretty great:
I’m sure you could figure out a way to get mad about this, but Buehrle got the job done in the unusual circumstance — and the team won the Series. He only threw three pitches, although it could have gotten interesting since he was the last pitcher left in the Sox pen. Game 3 also took five hours and 41 minutes to complete, something to consider.
Back to my original point: it’s good to be a professional pitcher.
If, for some reason, the thinking about the 2005 World Series sparks your interest here’s a line to the box score in Game 3. Future Hall of Famer Craig Biggio led off for Houston. Current Tigers manager Brad Ausmus caught. Morgan Ensberg (!) batted clean up for the Astros, while Carl Everett went 1-for-1 in a pinch-hit appearance for the Sox, who were managed by Ozzie Guillen.
Kind of a strange Series overall, no? The Astros, now in the American League, still had Roger Clemens pitching for them at the time. 10 years later Buehrle, A.J. Pierzynski and Wandy Rodriguez are the only notable players who are still kicking around in the Majors.
And Mark, I’d have you on my beer-league softball team any day of the week.