The retirement of Kerry Wood ruled the day at Wrigley Field on Friday. Had the Cubs reliever not announced his surprise retirement just hours before the start the crosstown series, Jeff Samardzija's plunking of Paul Konerko would have dominated the newscycle.
Related: Paul Konerko Injury: White Sox First Baseman Leaves Game After Hit In Face With Pitch
Konerko hit his eighth home run of the year in the first inning off Samardzija to give the South Siders a 1-0 lead. In his next at-bat, Samardzija hit Konerko in the face, which caused the Sox first baseman to exit the game.
Samardzija said after the game he did not mean to hit Konerko.
"It's unfortunate. There are a lot of superstars that put up big numbers, get paid a lot of money and Paulie's one of those guys who is a superstar and does it the right way. There's not too many of those guys out there. He's not about show or about himself," Samardzija said.
"Paulie's a good guy and that ball got away and unfortunately hit him up high. If I could take it back, I would. The only thing that makes me OK about it is he's a tough guy. I hope he'll be all right."
Konerko's status for Saturday's game remains up in the air.
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