Former Jefferson College Pitcher Mark Buehrle To Have Number Retired By Chicago White Sox

(CHICAGO) Former Jefferson College standout Mark Buehrle will have his number 56 retired by the Chicago White Sox Saturday afternoon against the Oakland Athletics in a ceremony honoring his career.

Buehrle was drafted out of Jefferson College in the 38th round of the 1998 draft and went on to have an All-Star caliber career helping lead the White Sox to a World Series win in 2005, throwing two no-hitters that included a perfect game in 2009, and winning over 214 career games. At one point, Buehrle threw 200 innings for 14 consecutive seasons while playing Gold Glove defense at the position.

Roger Barrentine, the Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Jefferson College, recognized the impact Buehrle had on the college and how they plan to return the appreciation on Saturday.

“As he is recognized, and his number and jersey are retired by the White Sox,” Barrentine said. “We’ll have a contingent there from Jefferson College as former coach Dave Oster will be there, representatives of the colleges administration and athletics team, and current coach Pat Evers will be there along with a number of alumni that played with Mark (Buehrle) just as a way to acknowledge his roots and say to him congratulations.”

Barrentine added this continues to build the reputation for Jefferson College Athletics.

“I think this also underscores the quality of athletics at Jefferson College,” Barrentine said. “The bar was certainly set high long ago and really setting that excellence and those that come behind him (Buehrle) in future generations try to uphold that tradition.”

During his time at Jeffco, Buehrle also played against Albert Pujols, who at the time played for Maple Woods Community College. Buehrle is one of over 65 Jeffco alumni that have played in professional baseball. Current University of Missouri head coach Steve Bieser also played a year of baseball at Jeffco.

The tradition of Vikings in the Major League Baseball draft continued this year with four former players being selected, including current player Troy Newell marking the ninth consecutive year a current player was taken in the draft.

Former head coach Dave Oster and current head coach Pat Evers among others will be in attendance on Saturday afternoon in Chicago to watch Buehrle’s number retirement ceremony. The game against the Athletics is scheduled for 1:10 p.m.