Cards That Never Were #49

2011 Gypsy Queen - Paul Konerko

When I saw the original checklist for Topps Gypsy Queen set, Paul Konerko's name was among the many others. It wasn't an unusual sight. As the dean of the White Sox, Konerko is almost always included as part of the team set.

It came as a surprise to me, when I was finalizing the Gypsy Queen checklist for the White Sox, that Paulie's name was now absent. I'm aware that every player can't be in every set. That would be ludicrous. I do expect that a player gets at least one card per year, per team. I don't think that's too much to ask, considering all the sets that are released in a calendar year.

Still, it's odd not to see Paul Konerko among the names in a larger card set. Paul is the most consistent hitter in a White Sox uniform and that is very noticeable so far in the 2011 season. I can understand why Konerko was lost in the shuffle. The White Sox have a lot of highly paid players and some rookies that could make a splash. On a team with that makeup, worthy players are almost always going to get left out somewhere.

In the interest of getting the captain a card in the Gypsy Queen set, I went ahead and created one. Enjoy!