Card Spotlight: 9-17-10

2010 Allen & Ginter #108 - Paul Konerko

Paul Konerko has come to epitomize what it means to be a White Sox player. You go out everyday and do your job to the best of your ability and try to scratch out a win in any way possible. Bumps and bruises will be obtained along the way, but unless those inhibit your ability to bring an A game, you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back out and give them hell.

There have been many players that have fit that mold in the past 110 seasons. Their names litter White Sox lore and are too numerous to mention here. If you've been following the White Sox for awhile, you develop a keen sense of who these players are. They are embraced by the fan base. They are always brought up when talking about past games. They hold that special balance of moxie, determination and blue collar work ethic that makes them favorites in Chicago.

Last night, Paul Konerko showed White Sox fans exactly why they scream "Paulie" over and over again when he steps to the plate. It's not because the fans are looking for the long ball or awaiting that clutch hit. It's because Paul Konerko is one of our own. He plays with a "no quit" attitude that oozes out of every pore, every fiber of his being.

Last night, Konerko was hit between the nose and lips with an inside pitch by Twins starter Carl Pavano. Lying on the ground, bleeding, after the pitch, Konerko got up and was checked out by the White Sox staff. The opinion was to pull Konerko from the game, but Paul would have nothing to do with that. In his next at-bat, on the first pitch, Konerko hit a monstrous home run that made the statement that he is not afraid and will not back down. This is the type of player that White Sox fans love. They go about their business quietly, but when the time is right, they strike, not with their fists, but with their bat, or with their pitch or with their glove.