“Some people don’t want to delve into it, because it’s probably more of a mental grind,” Konerko said. “But this was something we talked about back then: If you want to play late in your career, before your body goes and all that, technique and mechanics were going to hold up as you got older. That was going to be the last line of defense.”

Konerko enjoyed his best season at age 34, in 2010, when he hit .312 with 39 homers and placed fifth — his highest finish — in the voting for the A.L. Most Valuable Player award. Konerko went to high school in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he still lives, and the Diamondbacks chased him in free agency after that season. But again, Konerko stayed.

Konerko was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers and made his debut for them in 1997. His first professional goal, he said, was to play for the Dodgers his entire career, and he did not choose to be traded to the Reds, or to the White Sox.

But given a choice, Konerko always remained. The easier path, he is convinced, would have been to spend a few years here and a few years there, never having to be the frontman for an organization. He is proud of the championship banner, which hangs not far from his grand slam seat, but even more of his unbroken string of seasons in black.

“When I got to those crossroads here, pretty much everything on paper, whether it was money or family, anything that had to do with my life, it would have been easier to leave,” Konerko said. “But I stayed because I just felt an attachment, because I wanted to achieve that first goal from the very get-go. I didn’t want to let that go by.”

Image The scoreboard at U.S. Cellular Field flashing a highlight from Paul Konerko's career. Credit... Nathan Weber for The New York Times

Konerko, a first baseman, always found his way back, and at the big moments, the ball always found him. In the 2005 title run, he caught the final putout to clinch each postseason series. Mark Buehrle’s first no-hitter, in 2007, and Philip Humber’s perfect game, in 2012, also ended in Konerko’s glove.