White Sox/Konerko association has been mutually beneficial

Posted February 26, 2010 10:00 pm

Scot Gregor

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Change is inevitable, especially in major-league baseball.

But Paul Konerko and the White Sox have been joined at the hip since 1999, and the pairing has been mutually beneficial.

"This is who I am and this is what ... people gave me a chance to play here and from there I took it and ran and here we are," Konerko said after reporting to spring training Friday morning. "I'm very lucky. Whether it ends at the end of this year or a year from now or two years from now, who knows?

"It's all good. It's been a great run. I've got a World Series at the very least out of it. Hopefully we can get another one."

During his extended career with the Sox, Konerko has watched countless teammates reach the end of their contracts and not return. Jermaine Dye is the latest victim of baseball's brutal side, and there is a chance Konerko could be in the same situation at the end of this season.

Konerko, who turns 34 next Friday, is entering the final season of a five-year, $60 million contract.

His first choice is to continue playing an indefinite number of years with the White Sox and riding off to his nearby Phoenix-area home. But Konerko has always been able to keep things in perspective, one of the many reasons manager Ozzie Guillen named him White Sox captain in 2006.

"That was always my goal, to stay with one team a long time when I came into the league," said Konerko, who was drafted by the Dodgers and played briefly for the Reds before former Sox general manager Ron Schueler got him in a trade for Mike Cameron.

"I accomplished that," Konerko continued. "I'm OK with what happens from here. No one knows, there are so many moving parts when you get into your 30s. Team, where you are at, family. There are so many things that go on and you know I'm not bitter at that, have no anger about that.

"When you are in your 20s, that's who this game belongs to, those guys. We all had our run there. And that doesn't mean I can't be productive. I loved my year last year. I felt like it was good, and I think there is a lot more in there."

Konerko batted .277 with 28 home runs and 88 RBI. It was the third year in a row he failed to drive in 100 runs and, like Dye, he tailed off in the second half of the season.

Guillen expects Konerko to again anchor the middle of the Sox' lineup. As for his expiring contract, Guillen remembers how Konerko handled a similar situation in 2005, so he doesn't anticipate any problems.

"Hopefully, P.K. handles himself like he usually does," Guillen said. "He played real well when the first one (contract year) came up. He's the captain for a reason - he earned it. I think a lot of people have respect for him in this organization. He means a lot to this organization."

If the White Sox take a pass on bringing him back in 2011, Konerko said he'll likely follow the same path as Dye, who is still on the free-agent market.

"I remember Jermaine telling me at the end of the year, 'If I don't like what I see during the off-season or I don't get what I want, and that doesn't mean money, it means just the situation and everything, I have no problem. I'm happy to not go play. I'll maybe go during the season if someone asks me, but I'm content with that,''' Konerko said. "I would say that would probably be my mindset, where I'm not going to force something if it's not there because I have other things, I have a perspective of what's important and what isn't.

"At the same time, I like to play ... I love to play. When you get to be 45, 50, you can't re-create this atmosphere."

Charting Konerko

A look at where Paul Konerko ranks among White Sox all-time batting leaders:

System