Konerko, 34, batted .312 (171-548) with 39 home runs and 111 RBI in 2010, his 12th season with the White Sox, and finished fifth in AL Most Valuable Player voting. He hit 35-plus home runs for the fourth time in his career, recorded 100 RBI for the fifth time and was named to his fourth AL All-Star Team.
“We have made no secret of the fact that re-signing Paul Konerko was our top offseason priority,” said Ken Williams, White Sox general manager. “Paul’s value to the organization on the field and in the clubhouse can never be overstated. He is one of the greatest players in franchise history, and we hope he finishes his career in a White Sox uniform.”
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Konerko ranked second in the AL in home runs and home run ratio (14.05) in 2010, fourth in slugging percentage (career-high .584), sixth in RBI, on-base percentage (career-high .393) and total bases (career-high 320) and eighth in average and extra-base hits (70). In addition, he made his 10th consecutive Opening Day start at first base to extend his franchise record.
Konerko is a career .280 (1,861-6,642) hitter with 365 home runs and 1,156 RBI in 1,849 games over 14 major-league seasons with Los Angeles-NL (1997-98), Cincinnati (1998) and the White Sox (1999-current).
He ranks second in Sox history behind only Frank Thomas with 358 career home runs, 1,127 RBI and 701 extra-base hits, is tied for third with 335 doubles and is fifth with 950 runs scored. Konerko’s 11 seasons of 20 or more homers are tied with Thomas for the franchise record, and his nine grand slams are one shy of Robin Ventura’s club standard.
Konerko helped the White Sox win the 2005 World Series, the franchise’s first in 88 years, by hitting .265 (13-49) with five home runs and 15 RBI during an 11-1 playoff run. He hit a go-ahead grand slam in Game 2 of the Fall Classic vs. the Houston Astros.
Konerko was acquired by the Sox from Cincinnati on November 10, 1998.
Source: chicago.whitesox.mlb.com
Photo: Paul Konerko (14) ; author – Jacek Urbańczyk