Mark
12-22-2005, 09:26 AM
Paulie Revered
By Tom Verducci
Every so often a ballplayer enjoys a season of such indelible pluck and timely success that he becomes the unofficial proprietor of that year. Luis Gonzalez owned 2001 the way Jack Morris did 1991 the way Kirk Gibson did 1988 the way Bret Saberhagen did 1985 the way Bucky Dent did 1978 and the way Roger Maris did 1961. It is a tribute either to the democracy of the sport or its nutty randomness that such eternal ownership can be claimed, as in each of the aforementioned cases, by a player not found in the Hall of Fame.
The synonymy of a ballplayer and a year is decided without debate or ballot or a five-year waiting period. It happens quickly, organically. And at precisely 11:01 Central Daylight Time on the night of Oct. 26 it was readily apparent that the baseball year of 2005 belonged in perpetuity to the same man who clutched the ultimate out: White Sox first baseman Paul Henry Konerko, who -- like Fridge, Walter, Michael, Scottie and Sammy -- will henceforth be known to even the most casual fans around Chicagoland by a monomial, familial handle: Paulie.
With his humility, his lunch-pail work ethic and his rise after a spotty start to his career, Konerko is a Paulie kind of guy. You don't call a guy with an entourage Paulie. End-zone exhibitionists, contract holdouts, self-serving horn tooters ... you won't find a Paulie among them. Paulie is a man of the people. Paulie's your buddy. Paulie helps you move into a new apartment. Paulie always buys the first round. Though now seemingly superfluous, the cacophonous Konerko -- it sounds like a metal tool box being knocked over -- cements the Everyman role.
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Here's a link to the entire article (may need to be a subscriber):
http://premium.si.cnn.com/pr/subs2/siexclusive/2005/pr/subs/siexclusive/12/20/yr.baseball1226/
By Tom Verducci
Every so often a ballplayer enjoys a season of such indelible pluck and timely success that he becomes the unofficial proprietor of that year. Luis Gonzalez owned 2001 the way Jack Morris did 1991 the way Kirk Gibson did 1988 the way Bret Saberhagen did 1985 the way Bucky Dent did 1978 and the way Roger Maris did 1961. It is a tribute either to the democracy of the sport or its nutty randomness that such eternal ownership can be claimed, as in each of the aforementioned cases, by a player not found in the Hall of Fame.
The synonymy of a ballplayer and a year is decided without debate or ballot or a five-year waiting period. It happens quickly, organically. And at precisely 11:01 Central Daylight Time on the night of Oct. 26 it was readily apparent that the baseball year of 2005 belonged in perpetuity to the same man who clutched the ultimate out: White Sox first baseman Paul Henry Konerko, who -- like Fridge, Walter, Michael, Scottie and Sammy -- will henceforth be known to even the most casual fans around Chicagoland by a monomial, familial handle: Paulie.
With his humility, his lunch-pail work ethic and his rise after a spotty start to his career, Konerko is a Paulie kind of guy. You don't call a guy with an entourage Paulie. End-zone exhibitionists, contract holdouts, self-serving horn tooters ... you won't find a Paulie among them. Paulie is a man of the people. Paulie's your buddy. Paulie helps you move into a new apartment. Paulie always buys the first round. Though now seemingly superfluous, the cacophonous Konerko -- it sounds like a metal tool box being knocked over -- cements the Everyman role.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Here's a link to the entire article (may need to be a subscriber):
http://premium.si.cnn.com/pr/subs2/siexclusive/2005/pr/subs/siexclusive/12/20/yr.baseball1226/