The Chicago White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko is about to begin his seventeenth season in Major League Baseball. That speaks volumes just by itself. There have been countless good or even great players that never made it that long at the big league level. Konerko isn’t just hanging around to collect a paycheck from the White Sox though; he’s getting better with each passing year.
He has been elected to the All-star team each of the last three seasons and has batted around .300 for each one. Two of the three years he knocked in over 100 runs and hit over 30 homers. Last season he faded a little bit but this spring he is out to prove that his seventeenth season will see him improve yet again with age. He’s got three homers and five RBI with an average of .368. I’m not saying that spring stats will carry over directly but Konerko is a veteran. He knows what will get him ready for a good offensive season.
That means that this year could be one of his best. I wouldn’t doubt that it might actually be his best year in a few categories. He certainly still has the capability offensively as well as defensively. He might be slotted in the DH role here and there but he’ll hit well there too. There is always the chance that a veteran guy will suddenly run out of gas in the tank and not be able to put up big numbers again. That’s not what I get when I see Konerko hitting. I think he’s got plenty left in that tank to knock the cover off of the ball all season.
David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+.