His words often were few and far between, becoming one of the White Sox classic leaders through what he did more than what he said.

But on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Cellular Field, surrounded by friends, family and former teammates for possibly the greatest honor of his career, Harold Baines briefly broke down.

"I knew he was going to break up," said White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf of his close friend and former employee. Baines delivered his emotional speech after a statue of the White Sox legend was unveiled in the right-center field concourse prior to Sunday's series finale with the Royals.

"He always does when he talks about Marla," added Reinsdorf of the great affection between Baines and his wife. "That's an incredible love affair there."

Baines' wife was one of the numerous dignitaries present as Baines became the seventh recipient of this special honor, joining Charles Comiskey, Minnie Minoso, Billy Pierce, Carlton Fisk and the Hall of Fame double-play combination of Nellie Fox and Luis Aparicio. All four of Baines' children were in attendance, with Harold Jr. catching the ceremonial first pitch from his father, as were Baines' father and mother.

After the statue was unveiled and Baines made his brief, poignant and eloquent speech, Reinsdorf made special mention of how he was glad Linwood Baines could make the ceremony.

"When we had the Double Duty Classic here, Harold talked about his life to all the players and said his idol was his father," Reinsdorf said. "So, I wanted his father to know that."

Fisk, Ron Kittle and Robin Ventura represented Baines' former teammates who held the outfielder/designated hitter in such high esteem. Rusty Kuntz, Kansas City's first-base coach, showed up in his Royals uniform to honor Baines. The entire White Sox coaching staff made the trip from the clubhouse to right-center, led by manager Ozzie Guillen, one of Baines' closest friends.

"A lot of great players went through this organization, and the one that most deserves to be out there is Baines," said Guillen, who was joined by a handful of present White Sox players. "Nobody ever has anything bad to say about Harold and the way he goes about his business and represents our organization."

"Just his values, he's so steady in every facet," added Reinsdorf of Baines. "Harold made a lot of money and I think he's got it all. I'm sure it has grown. But you don't see him riding in fancy cars or chasing women or bragging about himself. He's just solid."

Over the course of a 22-year career, including three stints on the South Side of Chicago, Baines hit .289 with 384 home runs and 1,628 RBIs. But as Reinsdorf pointed out, as good of a player as Baines was, he was that much better of a person.

Prior to the official presentation, Baines met with the media to discuss such an achievement. While he didn't deny a desire to someday be selected for baseball's Hall of Fame, he fully understands the significance of his likeness in bronze.

"This is a great honor, too," Baines said. "The Hall of Fame is something different. But when an organization puts up a statue of you in their stadium forever. ... You might be right. That's better than the Hall of Fame. That's showing my family we represented the White Sox well."

Baines joked how he was glad the sculptor gave him hair once again. Of course, the trademark right leg lift was present in the statue depicting his swing.

It was a fitting tribute to a man who has meant so much to the White Sox -- as a player and as a coach. It was made even more special by the fact that Baines could share it with his family.

"This is not my day," said Baines to his family during his speech. "This is our day.

"That's the way I looked 25 years ago. It's surreal," Baines added. "The way I look, I wish I still had some of those features. But I don't. Such is life."