2009 White Sox: First Base

Hopefully, Konerko can bring back his 2005 form.

Once again, first base will be occupied by the face of the franchise for a long time, Paul Konerko. Konerko’s stats have been declining the past few years, but on such a young team, his leadership could be valuable to the club.

Konerko’s statistics over the past few years have been declining……too much. Look at his batting average, RBI, and home run totals go down since 2005:

2005: .283/100 RBI/40 home runs
2006: .313/113 RBI/35 home runs
2007: .259/90 RBI/31 home runs
2008: .240/62 RBI/22 home runs 

However, Konerko played only 122 games last year, compared to the 150 games he played previously, causing his totals to come down a bit. But, do you think that he would get 28 RBI in 30 more games? Possible,  but, he wasn’t consistent enough for those numbers. As Konerko gets older (33 at the start of the season), it seems his numbers are moving down, and he is past his prime. He is painfully slow, and has trouble getting around the bases to score. But, if you look at the positives that Konerko brings to the club, it makes up for his poor statistics.

With the White Sox in a “youth movement”, one thing that is always appreciated is some veteran leadership. And Konerko fits that criteria perfectly! This guy is a quiet leader, and doesn’t get recognition for the role he plays in the clubhouse. He takes blame when the heat is on him. Ozzie Guillen says no one is more disappointed about getting out than Konerko. And if he gets out, he will work harder to get on base. His work ethic and quiet leadership make him a great part of the team, that will assist the younger players in the future!

Also, Konerko struggles in the early months of the season yearly. As the weather heats up, so does he. In fact, he was a key reason in Chicago’s run to the playoffs. Prior to the All-Star Break, Konerko was standing at a mere .217 average with only 9 homers. After the All-Star Break, he was back up to .270, and had 13 homers. I know that those stats aren’t too impressive. But if he put up those same stats that he did in the first-half of the season, would the White Sox have made the playoffs?

I think Konerko will pull through well this year. He is the guy I want to see at first base for the South Side this year, and his presense on the field and in the clubhouse will be appreciated.

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