The Chicago White Sox and first baseman Paul Konerko agreed to a five-year, $60 million contract on Wednesday, keeping a pivotal piece of the 2005 World Series championship club in the fold. The new deal will pay Konerko $12 million per season and comes after Konerko reportedly turned down a five-year, $65 million contract from the Baltimore Orioles earlier in the week. The move to sign Konerko comes less than a week after the White Sox acquired first baseman Jim Thome from the Philadelphia Phillies. Thome will likely be the designated hitter for the White Sox. Konerko batted .283 in 158 games for the White Sox in 2005, posting 40 homers and 100 RBI in 575 at-bats. He also hit a cumulative .265 with a club-record five home runs and 15 RBI in 12 postseason games for Chicago, where he has spent his last seven seasons. The first baseman was named the MVP of the 2005 AL Championship Series after the White Sox defeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, another team who was interested in signing the slugger, in five games. Chicago then went on to sweep the Houston Astros for the club's first championship since 1917. In Game 2 of the World Series, Konerko hit the first postseason grand slam in franchise history. In his nine-year career, Konerko owns a .279 average with 210 homers and 692 RBI in 1,123 games with the Dodgers, Reds and White Sox. The two-time All-Star recorded career-bests of 41 home runs and 117 RBI with the White Sox in 2004. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound first baseman was originally acquired by Chicago on November 10, 1998 from the Cincinnati Reds for outfielder Mike Cameron and is the longest current tenured member of the White Sox.