Paul Henry Konerko ( ; born
March 5, 1976 in Providence, Rhode Island
) is a first baseman in
Major League Baseball with the
Chicago White Sox. He
previously played with the
Los
Angeles Dodgers ( - ) and
Cincinnati
Reds (1998). Recently, Konerko helped the Chicago White Sox win
the
2005 World Series. Konerko is
of Polish (paternal) and Italian (maternal) descent. He is
currently the
captain of the White
Sox.
High school career
As a
child, Konerko lived in Norwich, Connecticut
, and played for the Norwich Little League.
He threw a one-hitter as a member of the Red Sox at an early age,
only giving up a single to a D. Bergeron as noted in the Little
League scorebook.
At Chaparral High School in
Scottsdale,
Arizona
, Konerko was named the Arizona Republic/Phoenix Gazette Player of the Year as a
senior, after leading his team to a Class 4-A state
championship. His older brother Peter had a brief stay in
the minor leagues.
Career statistics
So far in his career, he has a .278
batting average, he has 311
home runs, 963
RBI,
and 813
runs scored. In 5576
at-bats, he has 1549
hits, 284
doubles, 6
triples, and 8
grand slams.
Career overview
Konerko was ranked the #1 catcher in the nation during his senior
year in high school.
As a
Minor leaguer, Konerko
enjoyed some good numbers. On
May 13, with
the
San Bernardino Spirit, he
drove in the only run of a 21-inning game. It was the longest
shutout in
California League history.
Konerko was traded, along with lefty pitcher Dennys Reyes, by the
Los Angeles Dodgers to the Cincinnati Reds for All Star closer Jeff
Shaw.
After two incomplete seasons in the
Majors, he was traded by the Reds to
the White Sox for
Mike Cameron. Since
then, Konerko has put together several excellent offensive
seasons.
Konerko has proven himself to be a consistent offensive threat in
the middle of the White Sox lineup. Konerko concluded the season
with 35 home runs, helping him rank in the top 10 for total home
runs over the past three seasons, after clubbing 40+ home runs in
2004 and 2005.
On
September 18, , Konerko became the last opposing player to hit a
home run at Yankee
Stadium
in the 9th inning of a 9-2 White Sox
loss.
Being a fan of heavy-metal music band
Metallica, the intro of the song
Harvester of Sorrow is played just
before his at-bats in home games.
On Monday, April 13, 2009, Konerko connected back to back with
Jermaine Dye for the 300th home run of
both players' respective careers off of
Detroit Tigers pitcher
Zach Miner. This was the first time that this had
ever happened in Major League history; where two players had hit a
century milestone home run in one game, let alone back to
back.
On July 7, 2009, Konerko was 3 for 4 with three home runs including
seven RBIs in a 10-6 win against the Cleveland Indians. It was the
first time in his big league career that he hit three longballs in
a game. He is also the only White Sox player to accomplish that at
new Comiskey Park (US Cellular Field). The last time he did that
was 1998 in AAA Vancouver.
Postseason
In , with a 95-67 record, the White Sox made the playoffs for the
first time since . Konerko made his first postseason appearance
that year, when the White Sox lost to the
Seattle Mariners in the
2000 American League
Division Series (ALDS). The Mariners swept the series in 3
games, and in 9 at bats, Konerko had no hits. He got on base once
on a
walk.
In , the White Sox faced the Wild Card
Boston Red Sox in the
2005 ALDS.
The White Sox swept
the Red Sox in three games and were helped tremendously by
Konerko's hitting, which included a home run over Fenway Park
's Green
Monster in Game 3.
The White Sox defeated the
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
in the
American
League Championship Series (ALCS). After going 0 for 4 in the
first game and 1 for 4 in the second game, Konerko hit 3 for 4 with
three RBI in the third game of the ALCS against the Angels. Two of
the RBI came from a home run in the first inning. In Game 4, Paul
was 1 for 4 with three RBI on another first inning
home run, the second in as many nights. In Game 5,
Konerko went 1 for 5 with another RBI. He was named the ALCS
MVP on the strength of a .268
batting average, two home runs and
seven RBI. He said, "I think you could split this four ways,"
referring to his feeling that the
MVP should be
awarded to the four White Sox starting
pitchers who pitched four consecutive complete games
in the ALCS.
In Game 2 of the 2005 World Series, Konerko hit the first grand
slam in White Sox World Series history to put the White Sox ahead
6-4. It was also the first grand slam in postseason history to give
a team the lead when trailing in the seventh inning or later. Those
were Konerko's only RBI of the World Series, but they were critical
in giving the White Sox the momentum to complete a four-game sweep
of the
Houston Astros and they were
the most for a White Sox hitter in the series. Konerko caught the
final out for every one of the series-clinching games throughout
the playoffs.
Following the 2005 World Series victory, Konerko handed the ball
from the final out in that series to team owner Jerry Reinsdorf at
the White Sox' victory parade. Shortly before that, Konerko
remarked that "We should do this again next year". Hoping to make
that dream a reality, Konerko signed a five-year $60 million deal
with the White Sox on
November 30, 2005
after reportedly turning down more lucrative offers from the
Los Angeles Angels and the
Baltimore Orioles.
See also
References
-
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/5908/career;_ylt=AvtFKtqsib5XqVMaSckiWW2FCLcF
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