Konerko Gives Reinsdorf Last-Out Ball

Konerko Gives Reinsdorf Last-Out Ball


CHICAGO - A baseball reduced Jerry Reinsdorf to tears. Of course, it wasn't an ordinary ball. Paul Konerko gave the White Sox owner the ball that Houston's Orlando Palmeiro hit for the final out of Chicago's first World Series title since 1917.



Konerko, who had gloved the throw from shortstop Juan Uribe for the final out at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday night, presented the ball to Reinsdorf during Friday's rally that followed a parade through the city.

"Getting this ball from Paul Konerko is the most emotional moment of my life," Reinsdorf said.

The fate of the ball was a mystery after the White Sox won the Series, with players claiming they didn't know where it was and Konerko refusing to comment.

Last year, Boston first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz caught a toss from pitcher Keith Foulke for the final out of the Series and kept the ball. Afterward the Red Sox said they wanted it, and Mientkiewicz lent it to the team for a year.

There were chants of "Ozzie! Ozzie!" and "Paulie! Paulie!" ringing through the streets in honor of manager Ozzie Guillen and Konerko. General manager Kenny Williams, World Series MVP Jermaine Dye and just about every other member of the White Sox heard cheers.

Even Reinsdorf got his share of kudos. In the past, he often was reviled for reasons ranging from being less personable than predecessor Bill Veeck to threatening to move the White Sox to dismantling the championship teams of his Chicago Bulls.

"I had my questions about Reinsdorf during the Bulls' run, but I saw something that was very impressive," South Side resident Curtis Miller said after greeting the team outside Midway Airport on Thursday. "I saw a sign of Reinsdorf that makes me understand him a little more, makes me realize that he — like most people — is multifaceted and has a side that is compassionate."

Reinsdorf angered fans in the late 1980s when he threatened to move the White Sox to Florida if a new stadium was not built. He was portrayed as a driving force behind the baseball strike in the mid-1990s, and many Bulls fans have not forgiven him and former general manager Jerry Krause for changes after the Bulls won six NBA championships in the 1990s.

As she waited for the White Sox to land on Thursday, South Sider Tracie Struck-Vasquez offered a "no comment on Mr. Reinsdorf."

But others were more complimentary.

They noted that he took team employees to Houston.

"I still have my feelings about the man, but I think it's mellowed him a little," longtime fan Dawn Gasior said. "I don't think he understood how the fans truly appreciated what we have here, and now I think he does."

As the White Sox motorcade pulled away from U.S. Cellular Field on Friday, 71-year-old Bob Neuman said, "Hey, he's a businessman. I see nothing wrong with that. He did the right thing. He came up with a winner."