O Captain! My Captain!

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Feb 24, 2006 9:01PM

The White Sox held their first all-squad practice yesterday as Spring Training gets into full swing down in Tuscon.

Prior to their first workout, manager Ozzie Guillen addressed the entire team. As part of his address he named Paul Konerko team captain.

A club that won the World Series on the strength of teamwork, it is perhaps a bit odd that Ozzie chose now to formally appoint a team captain. While many teams have one designated, the Sox haven't had an offical captain for quite some time.

Even without the "C" on his uniform, Konerko provided much of the leadership that carried the team to the title in 2005.

Describing Konerko, Sox left fielder Scott Podsednik said that he's "[t]he unclaimed leader. Just the way that man carried himself, he's the leader of this club. He's not a real outspoken guy. He leads by example. He's a class guy, all the way around."

That lack of ego had made Paulie apprehensive about assuming the captain title, "It's pretty much done -- I'm going to wear it. Just like any other job, if your boss asks you to do something, if he wants you to do it, you do it. I still believe it's not a huge thing, and it's not the answer to winning. We won last year without a guy wearing it."

Chicagoist wonders why the team even needs to have a captain, if they so clearly had the necessary leadership last year, in spite of anyone wearing a formal title, and when the recipient of the title seems so reluctant to wear it. We also question why Ozzie Guillen hand-picked the captain -- most team captains are elected by a vote of their teammates. The other Sox players probably would have selected Paulie anyway, but it looks better to have him chosen by his peers to lead them. We know Ozzie did it in part as a reward to his star hitter, but really, isn't that World Series trophy enough of a reward?