During the second of two rain delays in the White Sox 6-4 victory over Toronto in 4 1/2 innings, Buehrle entertained the rain-soaked masses by walking out to the field and gliding across the tarp on his stomach after taking a running start from right-center. He followed that graceful move with another dive toward home plate as the rain poured down.
As Buehrle walked back toward the dugout after completing the show, he raised his hands to acknowledge the crowd’s approval and seemed to wave one hand as if to indicate the fans should also partake in the activity. Neither of those moves sat very well with the organization, especially general manager Ken Williams.
In an e-mailed response to MLB.com, Williams also made it crystal clear as to what he thought about Buehrle taking another dive during the next rain delay.
“He needs to find another hobby,” Williams wrote, although he did not confirm Buehrle’s fine.
A fan came out of the stands and decided to do his own tarp dive shortly after Buehrle left the field, but he was immediately apprehended by security. One team official said that the fear of inciting other fans to follow in his footsteps also was a strong reason for Buehrle to simply stick to pitching.