Konerko says Alomar may be 'best second baseman of all-time'
During his 12 seasons with the White Sox, Paul Konerko has had the opportunity to play with some standout teammates.
The Sox' longtime captain has shared the clubhouse with Frank Thomas, Ken Griffey Jr., Jim Thome, Magglio Ordonez, Mark Buehrle and even Manny Ramirez.
Until Wednesday, however, Konerko had never played alongside a Hall of Famer. That changed when second baseman Roberto Alomar — along with starting pitcher Bert Blyleven — were voted into Cooperstown.
“There's no doubt (Alomar) is a Hall of Famer,” Konerko told the Daily Herald in an e-mail Wednesday night. “He should have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer. You could argue that he's the best second baseman of all-time.”
White Sox general manager Kenny Williams acquired Alomar in a 2003 trade from the Mets, and the 12-time all-star batted .253 in 67 games.
At the end of the season, the free agent signed with the Diamondbacks, but Williams got him back in another trade in 2004 and Alomar batted .180 in 18 games with the Sox.
Reduced to a shell of his former self due to a bad back and other nagging injuries, Alomar was 0-for-2 with 2 strikeouts for the White Sox in a Sept. 5 game at Texas. That was the last time he ever played.
“As far as playing with him, he was very easy going, very quiet,” Konerko said. “It wasn't that long of a period and it was at the end of his career, but you could still see how easily he played the game.”
In his second year on the ballot, Alomar amassed 90 percent of the votes cast by the Baseball Writers' Association of America to gain Hall of Fame induction.
Last year, he fell just short (73.7) of the 75 percent it takes to make the Hall.
Alomar batted .300 and had a .371 on-base percentage and .443 slugging percentage in 17 seasons with the Padres, Blue Jays, Orioles, Indians, Mets, White Sox and Diamondbacks.
(Full disclosure: I voted for Alomar, Blyleven, Barry Larkin and Lee Smith).
Alomar would have likely been elected to the Hall of Fame on his first try, but he was obviously held accountable by some members of the BBWA for spitting at home-plate umpire John Hirschbeck in 1996 while playing for Baltimore.
That was the lone smudge on a fabulous career than also included 10 Gold Gloves.
Earlier this off-season, manager Ozzie Guillen was asked to name the best players he faced when he was the Sox' shortstop from 1985-97.
“The best players I played against were Rickey Henderson and Roberto Alomar,” Guillen said. “And I have a lot of respect for Paul Molitor. My God, I think Paul Molitor was one of the greatest right-handed hitters, if not the greatest. Frank Thomas, unbelievable hitter. But I think the guys who I loved the way they played the game, it was Roberto Alomar and Rickey Henderson.”
Konerko got his first up-close look at Alomar in 1999, his debut season with the White Sox.
“When I first got to the White Sox and he was in Cleveland, he was the best all-around player I'd ever seen,” Konerko said. “He could drag bunt for a hit or hit a home run, and his defense was ridiculously good.”
Wednesday was a bad day for former Sox star Harold Baines, who is off the Hall of Fame ballot after getting just 4.8 percent of the vote. Tim Raines received 37.5 percent and is still eligible for induction.