White Sox’ Jose Abreu named AL Player of the Week
Abreu, showing no signs of letting up at 33, batted .533 with seven homers and 15 RBI last week.
If you raised an eyebrow when the White Sox shelled out $50 million for three more years of Jose Abreu, worry no more.
Abreu, at 33, is showing no signs of a career dropoff and is hitting like he has plenty of baseball left in his bones. At 240 pounds — he played at 268 his first season in 2014 after coming over from Cubs — Abreu looks trim and highly motivated.
And he is hammering the ball in all directions around and out of the ballpark.
Six homers over the weekend against the Cubs, including a club record four in a row covering his last three at-bats in a 10-1 victory Saturday night and his first one in a 2-1 loss Sunday afternoon, capped a week in which Abreu hit a .533/.563/1.333 slash line with seven home runs, three doubles, nine runs scored and 13 RBI. On Monday, Abreu was named American League Player of the Week.
If he hasn’t been appreciated in six seasons, it is time to appreciate him now, manager Rick Renteria said.
“He is one of the most underrated guys in Chicago. He shouldn’t be,” Renteria said. “He has earned everything he gets.”
It seems Abreu may have heard about misgivings of devoting such a large chunk of Sox payroll to a first baseman approaching his mid 30s, and one not known for his defense.
“I was a little emotional [Saturday] because to hear people say a lot of things about you, people who doubt you or maybe don’t believe in you,” Abreu said through translator Billy Russo Saturday. “I’m just proving them wrong. Sometimes it gets to you. Today was one of those moments.”
Abreu is off to an MVP caliber start, leading the American League with 11 homers, 28 RBI and 79 total bases to go with a .322/.365/.669 hitting line and 1.035 OPS.
There is no sign of tapering off in those numbers for a model of consistency who posted these home run/RBI numbers his first six seasons: 36-107, 30-101, 25-100, 33-102, 22-78, 33-123. Being limited to 128 games in 2018 because of two unusual health issues is all that prevented Abreu from the 30-100 norm.
“A lot of respect,” said the Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo, the first baseman on the other side of town. “He does it every single year, year in and year out.”
Abreu has improved his diet and fitness regimen since coming from Cuba and made it a goal at the end of last season too come to camp at 240 pounds and staying there.
“I feel good being at 240,” he said.
He also feels good having hitters around him in a lineup that was tied for the major league lead in home runs and leading in slugging percentage. The additions of Yasmani Grandal and Edwin Encarnacion to supplement an offense including Abreu, defending AL batting Tim Anderson, AL rookie home run leader Eloy Jimenez and Yoan Moncada alleviates Abreu’s need to carry the team by himself. In years past, Abreu put it upon himself to supply the production of two people in certain situations and stretches.
“Imagine being on the club for a lot of years and having to try to carry everything and how that might create — though he may not say it — even more added pressure to be the guy that does it all,” Renteria said. “And then when you have a lot of guys that can pick you up along that string in the lineup, it frees you up a little bit.
“He’s obviously done it. He’s hit over 30 homers I don’t know many years, over 100 [RBI] I don’t know how many years. He’s done it under what I consider difficult circumstances, to be honest.
“Now he’s got a lot of guys supporting him in a tremendously positive fashion on the offensive side, and it just looks like a lot of fun. So I’m really happy for him. I’m glad he’s taking advantage of it.”