Buehrle on his most uncomfortable delivery

This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin’s White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CHICAGO -- I’ve come to the understanding Mark Buehrle doesn’t like talking to me, and I don’t take it the least bit personally.

The truth is the left-handed hurler with 14 straight seasons of at least 200 innings pitched, 30 starts and double-digit victories never really enjoyed doing interviews. He expressed that point of view to me from time to time while I covered him with the White Sox from 2003-11, but Buehrle was one of the best interviews on the roster: available, informative, entertaining and always straightforward.

In reality, he would have rather faced Ichiro with the bases loaded and the game on the line in the ninth inning than talk to the media. It wasn’t until my extensive conversation with the retired Buehrle a couple of weeks ago when I truly understood the reasoning behind his desired silence.

“I didn’t ever feel comfortable being on cameras and talking,” Buehrle told me. “Even to this day having to do an interview or something where I have to get up and talk, I literally get nervous where I can’t sleep at night. I’m sick to my stomach. I get that freaked out.

“It’s no big deal once I do it. I’m like, ‘Why did I freak myself out?’ But leading up to it, I just get so nervous and freaked out.”

On June 24, 2017, Buehrle had his jersey No. 56 retired by the White Sox during a ceremony at Guaranteed Rate Field. He met about 25 media members at the stadium’s Conference and Learning Center for a Friday afternoon press conference, but on that Saturday afternoon, Buehrle had to give a speech in front of a sold-out crowd of 38,618.

This venue was the same one where Buehrle threw a 3-2 changeup to Rays catcher Michel Hernandez for the 26th out in his perfect game on July 23, 2009 -- a gutsy call, to say the least. Guess which scenario he found easier?

“It was brutal. I was literally in the hotel room gagging before we were going,” Buehrle said of the jersey retirement speech. “I remember [his son] Braden looking over and saying, ‘Dad, why are you so nervous? All you gotta do is get up and talk.’ But that’s the part I don’t like doing, talking in front of people when everybody is looking and staring and listening to you.

“People will be like, ‘You went out and pitched in front of 30,000 or 40,000 people,’ and I’m like, ‘I didn’t talk.’ I was not talking. I saw them. I didn’t have to do the talking part.”

When the Hall of Fame voting is announced Tuesday night on MLB Network, Buehrle won’t have the 75 percent to be inducted. He’ll need more than 5 percent support to stay on the ballot for a fifth year, but his career was Hall of Fame worthy beyond the numbers.

He was a mentor. He was a team-first player. He’d throw a no-hitter one day and be diving on the tarp during a rain delay a few days later, although that practice was curtailed by then general manager Ken Williams. He once did a pregame interview with me on a day he was starting, which was a big mistake on my part, and then threw a quality start in a White Sox win and told me “You’re so lucky” with a wry smile as we walked in the Kauffman Stadium clubhouse postgame.

Enjoying what he did was essential. Just don’t ask him to talk about it, even if he was great in that aspect of the game as well.

“Well, you guys gotta say that,” Buehrle said with a laugh. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t keep on doing it.”

I joked with Buehrle he might not do an interview again until 2035, so I really didn’t have to say anything I don’t mean, although he should be front and center for the 20-year-anniversary of the ’05 World Series title next year.

“[Nikola] Jokic for the Nuggets just said something like he just wants to play basketball and not get any of all the other attention,” Buehrle said. “That was exactly how I am, and I feel like I’ve gotten worse just doing the interviews and doing different appearances.

“I’m like, 'I did enough of that when I played.' I didn’t like it. I’ve never been a big talker anyways. But I had to do it when I played. Now that I’m done, I’m not trying to be a [jerk], but I just don’t like doing that stuff so I’m not going to do it.”