Paul Konerko sticks up for 2005 White Sox

Paul Konerko

There have only been two teams in Major League history to go wire-to-wire in the regular season and sweep the World Series -- the 1927 New York Yankees and the 2005 White Sox.

But even though the 2005 Sox went 99-63 in the regular season and romped through the playoffs with an 11-1 record, you rarely hear that club mentioned when people talk about the best teams in baseball history.

Sure, the Sox were one-year wonders, but for a single season, it's tough to top what that team did.

In an article on The Athletic, written by Tim Britton, the first baseman on that 2005 Sox team made that point.

“I think playing in Chicago for the White Sox, individually speaking, it’s a great town to play in but let’s be honest: It’s a Cubs town. You’re kind of overshadowed a little bit by everything going on with the Cubs,” Paul Konerko said. “It never really bothered me, because I didn’t care about that stuff.

“But the one thing I would stand up for is, when you see a lot of recaps of the best postseason teams or the best teams in history, there’s never any mention of that team. There’s never any talk about that team. It’s almost like it didn’t even happen.

“We just went in and basically kicked everybody’s ass, you know? Anybody who knows me knows I don’t really play the game of trying to argue those types of things or take offense, but I’ve always stood up for that team because I think we deserve better in how people view that team.”

Konerko is right. They did kick everybody's ass. It probably needs to be said more often, so that the 2005 Sox actually get the respect they deserve.