Paul Konerko Reaches Home Run Milestone

He's already off to a great start this season...so why not add in a milestone.

Wednesday, Paul Konerko became just the 48th player in Major League history to reach 400 career home runs when he sent a Grant Balfour offering deep to left to force extra innings against the Oakland Athetics.

And the best part...he did it in grand fashion. 

The milestone homer was also the slugger's 2000th hit in a Chicago White Sox uniform.  Konerko sits ninth among active players in home runs...or eighth if you don't count Manny Ramirez.

The season that was...April

Entering this season, The Hall laid out Ten Milestones to Watch For. Simply stated, some were reached…some weren’t.

Among those that made headlines, a few were monumental (Randy Johnson 300th victory)…others were obscure personal achievements (Omar Vizquel beoming the all-time hits leader among Venezuelan born players). And unless you spent the last few years living like Ted Williams' frozen, battered head...you knew that the Yankees opened up a new homer friendly ballpark.

All in all…a good season.

Let’s dive in, appropriately enough, with April.

Of all the home runs achievements that occurred during 2009, none were more improbable than White Sox teammates Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye both reaching the 300 home run plateau against the Tigers on April 13.

In the same game.

Back-to-back.

It was fitting that the pair reached the historic milestone in Detroit given Dye has hit the most home runs (16) by a visiting player at Comerica Park. Konerko is tied for fourth with former Sox teammate Jim Thome at 13.

Two night later, Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki slapped a single against the Angels and surpassed Isao Harimoto and became the all-time leader among Japanese baseball players.

And with that hit, questions were raised…is Ichiro the all-time Japanese hit leader or the all-time hit leader among Japanese born MLB?

Suffice it to say…the guy knows how to swing a bat.

And remember right before the season where it looked like Gary Sheffield’s career looked to be done?

Well, he all but guaranteed his Hall of Fame candidacy (in my mind) when the Mets picked him up off the scrap heap, signed him and, on April 17, he became the 25th member of the 500 home run club.

His first hit in the Majors was a home run for the Milwaukee Brewers, so it was fitting that number 500 was against them. Unpredictably, Sheffield achieved the milestone as a pinch hitter…the first ever to do so.

With April in the books, everyone’s eyes turned to May. Baseball's favorite octogenarian Jamie Moyer was on the cusp of 250 career victories and a revitalized Jason Giambi was looking to nail down home run number 400.

Kalas, Dye and Konerko...A Day Full of Highs and Lows

"We have lost our voice" Phillies president David Montgomery said in announcing the death of legendary Philadelphia Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas.

Less that 24 hours since he called Matt Stairs dramatic pinch-hit home run against the Colorado Rockies, Kalas was preparing to call the Phillies game against the Washington Nationals.

Fittingly, it was in the broadcast booth, where the 73 year-old Hall of Famer was found.

Kalas, the 2002 Ford C. Frick Award winner, was found by Phillies director of broadcasting Rob Brooks and was immediately taken to George Washington Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He had been broadcasting Phillies games since 1971 and was known for his distinctive "outta here!" home run call.

And while fans of the 2008 World Series Champs mourn the loss of Kalas, fans of the 2005 World Series Champs are celebrating.

Last month's American League Central Milestone Preview, mentioned that Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko (both of the White Sox) were each two home runs away from hitting 300 for their respective careers. What could have never been envisioned was them hitting them on the same day, in the same game...back-to-back.

But it happened in the second inning of their series opener at against the Tigers, when the sluggers went yard off Detroit starter Zach Miner.

It is fitting that both men reached the historic milestone in Detroit. Dye is tied with Joe Crede for the most home runs by a visiting player at Comerica Park at 15, while Konerko is tied for fourth with Jim Thome at 12.