Konerko on 2005 White Sox: 'We were the best team'

He'll never forget hitting the grand slam in Game 2, which gave the White Sox a 6-4 lead over the Astros and set the stage for Scott Podsednik's game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.

He'll never forget Geoff Blum's solo home run in the 14th inning that lifted the Sox over Houston in Game 3.

And he'll never forget shortstop Juan Uribe diving into the stands to make a catch in the bottom of the ninth inning to seal the White Sox' sweep of the Astros in Game 4.

There is no shortage of fond 2005 World Series memories for Sox great Paul Konerko, who had his uniform No. 14 retired at U.S. Cellular Field last weekend.

But 10 years later, Konerko is still blown away by the estimated 1.2 million people that lined the streets of Chicago for the World Series victory parade.

"The parade was something from another universe," Konerko said. "That still feels like it was different than anything you can imagine because of something we did on the field. I could have maybe thought about what it felt like winning a World Series and would have been off. But it was kind of in the same ballpark, I guess.

"The parade was something that I could see 30 years from now, hopefully, saying that's something you wouldn't forget."

While Konerko is staying busy as a retired baseball player back home in Arizona, he is expected to be back at the Cell on July 17 for 2005 World Championship Reunion Weekend.

Looking back on '05, the Sox were first in the American League Central the entire season.

Leading the division by 15 games on Aug. 1, they appeared to run out of steam while the surging Cleveland Indians cut the gap to 1½ games on Sept. 24.

"I think that was a classic case of a good team that, you see this happen in other sports, we did really, really well and it looked like it was going to be really easy," Konerko said. "Then it got really tough and we almost threw it away."

The White Sox closed out the regular season with 8 wins in 10 games and rolled into the playoffs.

Thanks to a gutty effort by Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez in Game 3 - the reliever worked out of a bases-loaded, no outs jam in the sixth inning - the White Sox swept the Red Sox in the AL Division Series.

Thanks to a heads-up baserunning play by catcher A.J. Pierzynski in Game 2 and an astounding four straight complete games from Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, Freddy Garcia and Jose Contreras, the White Sox eliminated the Angels in the AL Championship Series.

That vaulted them into the World Series for the first time since 1959.

"We just got into the playoffs, and then it was like a whole other team showed up because of how loose we felt and then all the talent came out," Konerko said. "Because we did have a lot of talent. If you go back and look at some of the teams that were in the playoffs that year, although some of them were like Boston, the Angels, teams that had been around, we were the best team.

"We had the most talent, the best pitching. We were the best team, so as long as we played our game and our talent came out, we should have won. We had the best team. But for that to happen, you have to be playing the game comfortably and normal, and we weren't for a long time. We just squeaked in and then normal happened and that was it."

The White Sox went on to sweep the Astros and claim their first World Series championship since 1917.

"When you look back, all that happened is we just played our game and we beat teams that weren't probably as good as us," Konerko said.

"Pretty simple. It seems like an easy thing to do, but it was a roller-coaster of a situation with the second half. It's not a recipe you want to draw up for a team that's going to the playoffs, but if you can have it happen you can become real dangerous once the playoffs start."