Anaheim, Calif. – The Boston Red Sox play long ball. The Los Angeles Angels play small ball.
Paul Konerko? The White Sox first baseman and free-agent-to- be is playing money ball.
Like it or not, that’s the name of the game in contemporary baseball and playoff time is investment time.
And here’s the weird part: Konerko, currently one of the players Angels fans love to hate, soon could be a player they love to love. Rumors are rampant in Southern California that Konerko could be joining the Angels next season if the price is right. The Angels desperately need some power in their lineup, and Konerko fits the profile.
He made $8.75 million this year in Chicago. He’ll probably make more than $10 million with his next team. That team could be the Angels, the Red Sox or some other club with deep pockets.
A number of Angels stars imploded in the first four games of this American League Championship Series. Slugger Vladimir Guerrero, who entered Sunday’s Game 5 hitting 1-for-16 in the ALCS and lacking an extra-base hit in the postseason, comes to mind. But Konerko, a prime 29 years old, has burst like a supernova at just the right time. He’s batting .286 with four home runs – a team playoff record – with 10 RBIs in the postseason. In the regular season, he batted .283 with 40 homers and 100 RBIs.
He’ll soon cash in those statistics, but it would be a shame if Konerko leaves Chicago. He has worn a White Sox uniform since 1999. In 2000, “Chicago Magazine” named him one of the city’s 25 most eligible bachelors. In a Cubs town, Konerko is a player who gives the often-overlooked Sox an identity. When he steps to the plate, fans at U.S. Cellular Field serenade him with chants of “Paulie! Paulie!” Now, with their first World Series appearance since 1959 within the White Sox’s grasp, Konerko is showing Chicago plenty of love.
Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who knows a clutch player when he sees one, desperately wants Konerko back. Guillen, who played 13 seasons for the White Sox, understands how much a player like Konerko means to a franchise and to a city.
“This kid just does everything in his power for us to be what we are, on and off the field,” Guillen said.
But with Konerko’s penchant for postseason money ball, his price tag just went up.
Pitching history
A deeper dig into the baseball record books reveals a few more tidbits about complete-game pitching performance in the postseason. When Chicago’s Freddy Garcia beat the Angels 8-2 on Saturday with a six-hit, nine-inning performance, the White Sox became the first team since the 1973 New York Mets to throw three consecutive complete games in the same postseason. The Mets’ trio of Tom Seaver, Jon Matlack and Jerry Koosman did it against Cincinnati in the 1973 NLCS. Seaver, however, was a 2-1 loser in Game 1.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, the White Sox became the first team to win three consecutive complete games in the postseason since the 1968 World Series, when Detroit’s Mickey Lolich (Game 5), Denny McLain (Game 6) and Lolich (Game 7) did it against the Cardinals.
The last team to throw four consecutive complete games in a single postseason was the 1956 New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers. In that series, Whitey Ford (Game 3), Tom Sturdivant (Game 4), Don Larsen (Game 5) and Bob Turley (Game 6) threw complete games. Larsen’s Game 5 performance, of course, remains the only perfect game in World Series history. The 1969 Baltimore Orioles pitchers threw four complete games in the postseason, but not in succession.
