Mark Buehrle, one of the greatest pitchers in Chicago White Sox history, will be honored with a statue at Rate Field this season, the team announced at Sox Fest on Friday. The statue will be placed along the outfield concourse and unveiled on July 11.
Here is the team’s announcement:
“You don’t play this game for all that stuff,” Buehrle said when asked about the statue. “I always played to have fun. Try to win games. All of the other stuff will take care of itself.”
Buehrle, a 38th round draft pick in 1998, spent the first 12 years of his career with the White Sox, going 161-119 with a 3.83 ERA. He went to four All-Star Games with Chicago, finished fifth in the 2005 Cy Young voting, and threw both a no-hitter and a perfect game. Buehrle was also the ace of the White Sox’s 2005 World Series championship team.
Among other things, Buehrle ranks in the franchise’s top 10 in pitching WAR (48.9), starts (365), wins (161), innings (2,476 2/3) and strikeouts (1,396). He finished his career with the Marlins and Blue Jays and retired with 214 wins and a 3.81 ERA in close to 3,300 innings. Only Hall of Famer Roy Halladay posted a higher WAR than Buehrle from 2000-15.
There are several statues along the Rate Field concourse. Hall of Famers Luis Aparicio, Harold Baines, Carlton Fisk, Nellie Fox, Minnie Miñoso and Frank Thomas are among those honored, as are franchise icons Paul Konerko and Billy Pierce, and founding owner Charles Comiskey.
Buehrle appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot for the fifth time this year. He received 11.4% of the vote, his highest percentage yet, though that is still well short of the 75% needed for induction.
The White Sox retired Buehrle’s No. 56 in 2017.
