Aaron Rowand was leaning against the dugout railing last week, the day after his pal Paul Konerko’s wife Jennifer gave birth to their first child, Nicholas, and he was thinking what anyone concerned with the Sox would be thinking.
“I just hope that Jen gives him a break and lets him get his rest next week,” Rowand said after expressing his sincerest best wishes to the couple.
You could almost hear mothers everywhere sighing loudly.
Evidently, either Konerko has managed just enough sleep, or sleep deprivation suits him because no one who has seen Konerko throughout the playoffs, including Sunday night when he clubbed a go-ahead grand slam, would question what fatherhood has done for him.
Nicholas was born after Jennifer was induced during the layoff between the American League Championship Series and the start of the World Series. As a father, Konerko is 3-for-8 with one home run, four runs batted in, one strikeout and no walks for a .375 average. Of course, as an expectant father in 28 playoff at-bats, Konerko hit .286 with 10 runs batted in and 10 home runs, so it hasn’t exactly been a miraculous transformation.
Nevertheless, after Sunday night’s dramatic White Sox comeback in Game 2 of the World Series, Major League Baseball official Phyllis Merhige greeted Konerko in the interview room with the question, “Was that one for Nicholas?” and was treated with a giant grin from the Sox slugger.
During this season, seven babies have been born to players now on the White Sox.
If there’s something in the water that has contributed to the rash of new Sox offspring, then someone should bottle it and sell it, because it is now akin to holy water based on the good fortune the little ones have brought to their dads.
A.J. Pierzynski and his wife, Lisa, welcomed daughter Ava Jordan on Sept. 5. Since then, Joe and Lisa Crede have had baby Lucy Renee join the team that already included daughter Anna, who will be 2 in November; Freddy Garcia and wife Glendys have celebrated a baby girl, Sofia; and Nicholas Konerko has rounded out the new generation.
In addition, Geoff Blum and his wife, Kory, had triplets Ava, Audrey and Kayla in the spring before Blum came to the White Sox in a trade from the San Diego Padres. The Blums already had one daughter, Mia.
Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, a renowned family man who often has all three of his sons in uniform, welcomes the patter of a few more little feet in his clubhouse, with one exception.
“It’s hard in baseball to have girls,” he said after Konerko’s son was born to break the streak of no boys.
“They can’t be in the clubhouse.”
Crede said he has no complaints with having two daughter.
“They’re awesome,” he said last week. “[Lucy] puts things in perspective for me. There are things more important than baseball. Family comes first.”
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misaacson@tribune.com
