Imrem: Can Cubs' Bryant ever live up to the hype?

Paul Konerko and Kris Bryant crossed paths over the weekend.

At least in baseball history they did.

Konerko is in his first season of retirement and Saturday had his number retired by the White Sox.

Bryant is in his first major-league season and has been putting up impressive numbers for the Cubs despite Sunday's 0-for-4 at Arizona.

Ever since Bryant arrived at Wrigley Field last month, one curiosity was how good he had to be to match the hype.

During the U.S. Cellular Field ceremony for Konerko, I wondered whether his illustrious career would be good enough to fulfill the Bryant expectations.

Konerko's credentials are projected to fall just short of Hall of Fame election. He meant enough to the Sox for his number to be placed up alongside those of their greats, including Hall of Famers.

A former fixture at first base, Konerko finished with 439 home runs, a .279 batting average, six all-star selections, a pivotal grand-slam homer in the World Series and a championship ring.

Would that be a good enough career for somebody who burst onto the big-league scene with the fanfare that accompanied Bryant?

Consider that the preponderance of players who enter the major leagues would love to exit with Paul Konerko's accomplishments and honors. A good guess is that Konerko was among them when he was a promising prospect with the Dodgers. When he arrived here, the Sox became his third team.

Sixteen years later, Konerko was able to leave with no regrets. He gave the game and the White Sox everything he had.

The Bryant buzz, however, sounds like he has to do more: break the single-season home run record every year and the career homer record by the time his No. 17 is retired.

Bryant is supposed to be Ernie Banks, only better. He's supposed to be Billy Williams, Ron Santo and Ryne Sandberg all in one. He's supposed to be Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays.

How silly and unfair is that?

Not that Bryant himself is boasting any of that. He's just going about his rookie business one day, one game, one pitch, one at-bat, one fielding chance at third base at a time.

The end of Bryant's career could be and should be a couple of decades away, too far off to envision at this point.

Right now Bryant is a little like a young Mark Prior, the Cubs' previous rookie phenom, unless you want to count Felix Pie.

Prior was with the Cubs when Roger Clemens came to Wrigley Field in search of his 300th pitching victory. I asked Prior that day whether he could see himself winning 300 games. He rolled his eyes. He had 11 at the time and injuries wound up limiting him to 42 for his career.

The future was uncertain for Prior, it was for Konerko, it is for you, it is for me, it is for everyone in this world, and that includes Bryant.

But expectations are real even when they're unrealistic and they're humongous for Bryant to the extent that becoming the next Konerko would be a letdown.

Yes, silly and unfair indeed.

Too much is out of an athlete's control, but what Bryant can control is to carry himself the way Konerko did.

Bryant can remain the pleasant young man that he has been, treat people with respect, be a great teammate and play the game the way it was meant to be played.

Paul Konerko did that and more and become one of Chicago's most beloved athletes.

That's a lot to ask any player to duplicate, yet Kris Bryant is expected to surpass it.

mimrem@dailyherald.com