Pretty good article about Buehrle: http://www.dugoutcentral.com/blog/?p=2580
Mark Buehrle – The Forgotten Ace
Published by Joe Giglio on July 21, 2009 06:34 am under White Sox
If you were asked to name the best pitchers in baseball, who would your list include?
When I asked my brother, a big baseball fan, these were the names that he mentioned: Johan Santana, C.C. Sabathia, Brandon Webb, Josh Johnson, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Zack Greinke, Tim Lincecum, Jake Peavy and Josh Beckett. Pretty impressive list of names. Often times on The Shore Sports Report, my co-host and I will talk about the best pitchers in baseball. We rank these starters as the best currently going in their leagues, and the guys that we would want on the mound for us in a big game. Every time these pitchers are on the hill for their team, fans believe that their team will win that game. That is how I define an ace.
Over the years, I have been paying attention to a pitcher who I consider a number 1 starter, but few fans or experts ever rank up there with the other big names. That pitcher? Mark Buehrle.
What? Why? How? Most importantly, WHO? Mark Buehrle has quietly compiled a noteworthy career over the past nine seasons as part of the Chicago White Sox rotation. Although never finishing higher than fifth in the Cy Young voting, and only appearing in three All-Star games, he has been one of the best and most consistent performers of this decade. Since joining the White Sox rotation full time in 2001, Buehrle has gone 127-88 with a 3.75 E.R.A, won a World Series, thrown a no-hitter, thrown 200+ innings every season, had an ERA higher than four only twice in that span, and won double digit games in every season.
Of the pitchers listed above as the best in the game today, only one (Halladay) has more career wins than Buehrle. His career winning percentage and ERA are nearly identical to Josh Beckett. He has 12 more career victories than Johan Santana at the same age. He has done this all despite playing in one of the best hitters parks in all of Major League Baseball. Tom Glavine, the soft tossing lefty that many believed would be the last 300 game winner baseball ever saw, was 122-78 through this same juncture in his storied career.
What is it about Buehrle that makes baseball fans fail to recognize his consistency? Is it because his game isn’t flashy? He doesn’t throw 98 miles per hour, won’t lead the league in strikeouts, and has never had that one historic year. He does win games. He wins them consistently. My co-host asked me whether I would be comfortable with him as the number 1 pitcher on my team. I said that I would, and I think a legion of White Sox fans (I’m talking to you, Mr. Obama) would agree with me. Mark is 10-3 with a 3.52 ERA this year, and is consistently a good second half pitcher.
Will this be the year he finally wins 20 games or the Cy Young award? Probably not. There always seems to be a never flavor of the week having a big year to overshadow him in his own division. The emergence of Santana as the best pitcher in baseball, Cliff Lee putting it all together, and the heartwarming story of Zach Greinke have made even the writers who cover the American League Central division put the accomplishments of Buehrle on the back burner over the years.
We are always looking for the next big thing in sports. The new 20 game winner, 500 home run hitter, or closer who throws over 100 mph. Often times we overlook the players that are performing seemingly ordinary, but actually are excelling like few before. Baseball is the ultimate game of numbers. In no other sport are records revered like in the game of baseball. 3,000, 500, 300, and .400. Those numbers need no explanation. Every fan knows the sanctity of those accomplishments. I think we forget that those numbers are achieved not through two or three all time great seasons, but instead by a long, sustained, consistently special career. If Mark Buehrle continues to pitch like he has for the rest of his career, he will have amassed numbers that will eventually be impossible to ignore.