Paul Konerko back in White Sox lineup 17 days after breaking left hand

Chicago White Sox slugger Paul Konerko insisted he would "finish on the field" in his final major league season after he sustained a broken hand, and 17 days later he's back in the lineup.

Konerko is playing first base and batting sixth for the White Sox, who take on the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Friday night. Coincidentally, the Trop was the site of the only inside-the-park home run of his career, in 2000, so it makes for an extra-special stop on his farewell tour. Konerko has said he's retiring after parts of 18 seasons in the majors, mostly with Chicago.

Konerko's farewell appeared to be dealt an unfair blow Sept. 2 when he applied a tag to Danny Santana of the Minnesota Twins and sustained a broken bone in his glove hand. From the moment everyone realized the seriousness of the injury, Konerko was quick to say it wouldn't keep him from playing again, even with time growing short.

Konerko has described his hand in recent days as feeling "sore," and it's a sound assumption that he wouldn't be playing yet if this injury had happened in the prime of his career, and the White Sox were in the playoff hunt. He's a special case, though.

A six-time All-Star, Konerko helped lead the White Sox to a World Series title in 2005, and has slugged 439 home runs in his career — 42nd all-time — with an adjusted on-base plus slugging of 118. At 38 years old, Konerko isn't what he once was, batting .220 with a .272 on-base and .616 OPS in 2014. Perhaps he can get a few more hits and slug another home run before he's done, but even if he doesn't, Konerko has made his mark on the White Sox.

He deserves to leave on his own terms, and fortunately the Sox can accomodate him.

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David Brown is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rdbrown@yahoo-inc.com and follow him on Twitter!

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