Buehrle Adds Gold Glove To Stellar 2009 Baseball Betting Lines

In Baseball Betting Lines Mark Buehrle was to make a checklist for career accomplishments, both White Sox-oriented and of the individual variety, he would be able to mark off a number of targeted goals reached and even a few he didn't expect.

For a 30-year-old pitcher with a fastball that can only rarely be described as "fast," Mark Buehrle had a pretty good season, huh?

Buehrle's latest accomplishment? Being awarded his the first Gold Glove of his career at Baseball Betting Lines.

The Gold Glove caps off an insane 2009 for Buerhle. Of course, there was the July 23 perfect game, only the 16th in the history of Major League Baseball. Then there was the following game, in which Buerhle pitched no-hit baseball to the Twins before eventually yielding a hit late, stacking a nearly perfect effort on top of a legendarily perfect one.

Buehrle led all American League pitchers in Baseball Betting Lines 2009 with eight pickoffs, 55 total chances and 41 assists and tied for the AL lead by assisting with five double plays while committing just one error. Since the beginning of the 2001 season, Buehrle leads all Major League pitchers with 63 pickoffs (20 more than Andy Pettitte) and ranks third with 501 total chances and 373 assists.

Over his 10-year career with the White Sox, Buehrle has allowed just 40 stolen bases in 95 attempts. That comes out to a 42.1 percent success rate, which falls as an important statistic for a staff that has had its trouble holding on baserunners.

A trademark defensive move for Buehrle is his kick-save attempt on grounders back up the middle. He admitted that part of his defense was transferred from another sport.

"When I was a little kid, I used to play street hockey," Buehrle said. "So, everything that comes my way, I take pride in knocking stuff down."

Then there was Mark Buehrle Day in Illinois, which Governor Pat Quinn declared on July 31. Even in a state as traditionally corrupt as Illinois, having the Governor give you your own day is a big deal.

True, the Gold Glove is easily the least important of these accomplishments

The writers who vote for award Gold Gloves tend to vote more for offense and name recognition than they do by any sort of recognizable baseball metric; Derek Jeter won the Gold Glove for shortstop, and most baseball observers agree Jeter is well past his fielding prime.

But the Gold Glove is still an accomplishment, one Buerhle deserves well enough. So congrats, Mark, and enjoy it. Few people get the have this much fun in a lifetime. You did it in one year.