Chicago White Sox fans give returning World Series champions rousing welcome
Members of the 2005 World Series champion White Sox have been around U.S. Cellular Field all weekend, much to the delight of manager Robin Ventura.
"It's special," Ventura said. "Those guys are always going to be special in the fans' eyes and the organization's eyes. I think it's fun having them around here. They're welcome anywhere. I want them in our clubhouse, I want them anywhere they want to go."
Celebrating the 10th anniversary of winning the World Series, the '05 Sox were honored in a pregame ceremony.
Aaron Rowand, Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, Jon Garland, Paul Konerko, Scott Podsednik, Jermaine Dye and Ozzie Guillen all spoke to the crowd of 33,559.
"I grew up with the Chicago White Sox," said Guillen, who played shortstop on the South Side from 1985-97 and returned as manager from 2004-11. "I know how the fans suffered with the ballclub. (In 2005), I don't think we had the best talent on the paper, but I thought we had the best players with their heart. The reason we are here is because of them."
Most of the '05 roster was on hand for the celebration, with the exception of Mark Buehrle (Blue Jays), A.J. Pierzynski (Braves), Juan Uribe (Braves), Neal Cotts (Brewers) and Tadahito Iguchi (Japan), who are still playing.
"They're overachievers," Konerko cracked.
There's been a lot of laughter at the Cell this weekend, and a lot of good memories from the team that ended an 88-year World Series drought.
"It's a memory you never lose," chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said. "I didn't appreciate it while going through it because all the games were so close. We couldn't really enjoy it until it was over."
The White Sox started celebrating the 10th anniversary of winning the World Series in late January, at SoxFest. The party has continued in the summer.
"It's really hard to believe it's been 10 years," the 79-year-old Reinsdorf said. "It seems like yesterday. The older you get, the faster the years go. The thing that stands out is how much they've changed. Certain guys are a lot bigger than they used to be. But then you look at El Duque and Jermaine Dye and they look the same.
"It's great. It's a great memory that they'll always have, that I'll always have, that our fans will always have. Hopefully there will be another one, but if there isn't, you can never take it away."
When they weren't signing autographs or taking selfies with fans at the Cell Friday and Saturday, the '05 Sox were hanging out together and enjoying the moment.
"This is what you talk about as a player," said Konerko, who retired in 2014 after spending 16 seasons with the White Sox. "You know if you win one of these things you get all these things that come with it.