When the Mark Buehrle of the White Sox told the Chicago Tribune last spring that he would retire at the end of his contract, few took him seriously.
After being selected to his fourth All-Star Game this week, the righthander said again yesterday that he intends to retire after the 2011 season, when he will be just 32.
"Look, I'm having fun," he told Yahoo's Jeff Passan. "It's not like I want to quit. If I didn't have a family, I'd play until I was 60, or until they kicked me out. I just don't want to miss my kids growing up."
So Buehrle, a confirmed outdoorsman, truck driver, and farmer, says he'll head back to his 1,200-acre ranch in Missouri and chuck the fame and fortune of baseball.
"Those two years could fly by, and I could say I'm not ready to retire," he said. "But today? I don't see myself playing past this contract."
Where's Bart?
The White Sox also were having trouble locating righthander Bartolo Colon, who has been in Arizona rehabbing a sprained left knee. Colon was en route to Charlotte, N.C., to start a game tomorrow for the triple-A Knights but has dropped off the radar.
"Efforts to contact his agent have been successful; their efforts to contact his client have not been so successful," general manager Ken Williams said. "We'll see if he is in Charlotte on Thursday."
New York City pays offended fan
A baseball fan has settled a lawsuit that claimed he was kicked out of Yankee Stadium by a police officer because he left his seat to use the bathroom during the playing of "God Bless America" at a game last August.
Bradford Campeau-Laurion had named the Yankees and New York City in his federal lawsuit. The city did not admit liability but will give the Queens resident $10,001 and will pay $12,000 in legal fees to the New York Civil Liberties Union. The Yankees will pay nothing.
Presidents' Day
President Obama will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the All-Star Game in St. Louis on Tuesday. All five living presidents will appear in a video shown before the game. George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter will recognize citizens being honored by baseball for their community service.
Noteworthy
Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton, coming off abdominal surgery and a long stint on the disabled list, declined an invitation to the All-Star Home Run Derby but will play in the game Tuesday. . . . Dustin Pedroia was back in Boston's lineup after missing one game to be with his pregnant wife, Kelli. . . . The Yankees will move righthander Alfredo Aceves from the bullpen for a spot start tomorrow against Minnesota in place of Chien-Ming Wang, who is on the DL with a shoulder injury. . . . Kansas City sent infielder Luis Hernandez to triple-A Omaha.
Contact staff writer Don McKee at 215-854-4611 or
dmckee@phillynews.com.
This article contains information from the Associated Press.
