Bobby Abreu
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| Bobby Abreu | |
|---|---|
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| Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim — No. 53 | |
| Left fielder | |
| Born: March 11, 1974 Turmero, Aragua State, Venezuela |
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| Bats: Left | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| September 1, 1996 for the Houston Astros | |
| Career statistics (through July 9, 2009) |
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| Batting average | .300 |
| Home runs | 247 |
| Stolen bases | 336 |
| Runs batted in | 1138 |
| On-base plus slugging | .900 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Bob Kelly "Bobby" Abreu (pronounced /əˈbreɪ.uː/) (born March 11, 1974 in Turmero, Venezuela), nicknamed "El Comedulce" and also "La Luche", is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Abreu is a two-time all-star, who has won a Gold Glove Award and a Silver Slugger Award. He has led his league in games (twice), doubles, and triples. Through 2008, he was tenth among active ballplayers in on-base percentage (.405), and seventh in stolen bases (318).
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[edit] Career
Abreu played with the Jacks of the Florida State League. He batted .283 and began to show gap power with 21 doubles and a league-record 17 triples. He also reached double figures in outfield assists for the third year in a row. After the campaign, Bobby had rotator cuff surgery done on his right shoulder, which had periodically given him problems.
Abreu started his Major League career with the Houston Astros. He played only 74 games over two seasons. Left unprotected in the 1997 MLB Expansion Draft when Houston decided to keep fellow Venezuelan outfielder Richard Hidalgo, Abreu was selected by the then Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but hours later he was traded to the Phillies for shortstop Kevin Stocker. [1]
Despite the fact that both the Astros and Devil Rays deemed him expendable, Abreu firmly established himself as one of the most promising young hitters and strong-armed right fielders in the game.
[edit] Philadelphia Phillies
In 1998, his first season with the Phillies, Abreu led his team with a .312 batting average and collected 17 home runs, 74 RBI, and 19 stolen bases in 151 games, with 271 putouts and 17 assists in right field.
In 1999, he made a brief run at the batting title. His .335 career-high average that season ranked third in the National League and was the highest posted by a Phillies player since outfielder Tony González hit .339 in 1967.[1] His .446 career-high OBP was also third in the league.
In 2000, he was fourth in the league in triples (10), sixth in doubles (42), seventh in walks (100), and ninth in OBP (.416). Bobby became the first Phillie outfielder since Greg Luzinski with back-to-back 20 homer seasons.
In 2001, Abreu led the NL in games played (162), and was third in walks (106), fourth in stolen bases (36) and doubles (48), and eighth in runs (118) and sacrifice flies (9). He also hit a career-high 31 home runs and had a career-high 110 RBI.
In 2002, he led the league in doubles (50), and was sixth in walks (104), seventh in stolen bases (31) and intentional walks (13), eighth in OBP (.413), ninth in hits (176), and tenth in runs (102).
In 2003, Abreu was fourth in the league in walks (109), seventh in sacrifice flies (7), eighth in OBP (.409), and ninth in stolen bases (22).
Finally, in 2004, he got his first All-Star berth, being voted in as the National League All-Star Final Vote winner in online voting on MLB.com. [2]
Abreu finished the season with a .301 average, 30 home runs, and 105 RBI, and ranked among the National League top five in five offensive categories: runs (fourth, 118) -- the third time in 6 years that he scored 118 runs, doubles (fourth, 47), stolen bases (third, 40--a career high), walks (second, 127--a career high) and on base percentage (fifth, .428). In 2004, Abreu also led the Major Leagues in pitches-per-plate-appearance (4.32) and number of pitches seen (3,077), was eighth highest in the league in total bases (312), and posted the league's tenth-best OPS (.971).
[edit] 2005 season
In May, Abreu was honored as the Player of the Month in the National League, after he hit .396 and 11 home runs. He also led the NL for the month in slugging average (.792), on-base percentage (.535), and walks (30) and was tied for the league lead with 30 RBI. He became the first player in Major League history to hit at least one home run in nine out of ten team games.
He was voted a starter in the NL outfield for the All-Star Game, finishing second in fan voting, behind St. Louis Cardinals Jim Edmonds.
At Comerica Park – a field normally considered a "pitcher's park" – Abreu won the Home Run Derby as he set records with 24 home runs in a single round (since broken by Josh Hamilton in 2008), and 41 overall, topping Miguel Tejada's previous marks of 15 and 27, set a year earlier. Abreu's longest homer was measured at 517', the third longest in Derby history. After his power numbers dipped considerably for the remainder of 2005, into 2006, there was considerable speculation that winning the Derby may have had a psychological impact on Abreu.
In 2005, pitches per plate appearance (4.39), number of pitches seen (3,159), and games played (162), and was second in walks (117) and times on base (291), fourth in sacrifice flies (8), fifth in intentional walks (15), seventh in runs (104), stolen bases (31), and OBP (.405), ninth in strikeouts (104), and tenth in RBIs (102).
[edit] New York Yankees
He had the last stolen base in the original Yankee Stadium on September 21, 2008.
[edit] 2006 season
On July 30, 2006, Abreu was traded along with Cory Lidle to the New York Yankees for minor league shortstop C. J. Henry (a 2005 first-round draft pick), left-hander Matt Smith (a seven-year minor league veteran), catcher Jesus Sanchez, and right-hander Carlos Monasterios -- all low-level prospects in the Yankee organization. Philadelphia Daily News columnist Bill Conlin referred to the trade as "the Great Gillick Giveaway" and declared it "an unvarnished disaster."[3] Surprisingly, the Phillies improved after the Abreu trade, and made a run for the National League wild card, only being eliminated on the second to last day of the season.
Abreu fit very well into the Yankees lineup. Abreu hit .330 with 7 home runs and 42 RBI as a Yankee in the 2006 season. Abreu and the Yankees ran away with the AL East division title by mid-September 2006, but were eliminated by the Detroit Tigers in the 2006 American League Division Series.
In 2006, Abreu led the major leagues in walks (124), pitches per plate appearance (4.45), and number of pitches seen (3,056), and was second in the major leagues in percent of plate appearances that were walks (18.5%),[1] and led the NL in percentage of pitches taken (66.2), and in walks per plate appearance (.181), third in batting average on balls in play (.375),[2] eighth in on base percentage (.424), 18th in stolen bases (30), and 19th in doubles (41).
[edit] Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
[edit] 2009 season
On February 12, 2009, Abreu signed a $5 million, one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and was expected to play left field. However, after Vladimir Guerrero was moved to DH due to injury, Abreu saw more action at his natural position in right.
[edit] Career earnings
As of 2008 season
| Year | League | Team | Salary ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | American League | New York Yankees | 16,000,000 |
| 2007 | American League | New York Yankees | 15,000,000 |
| 2006 | National League | Philadelphia Phillies | 13,600,000 |
| 2005 | National League | Philadelphia Phillies | 13,100,000 |
| 2004 | National League | Philadelphia Phillies | 10,600,000 |
| 2003 | National League | Philadelphia Phillies | 9,100,000 |
| 2002 | National League | Philadelphia Phillies | 6,333,333 |
| 2001 | National League | Philadelphia Phillies | 4,983,000 |
| 2000 | National League | Philadelphia Phillies | 2,933,000 |
| 1999 | National League | Philadelphia Phillies | 400,000 |
| 1998 | National League | Philadelphia Phillies | 180,000 |
| 1997 | National League | Houston Astros | 150,000 |
| Career Total | 92,379,333 | ||
[edit] Awards
- 1996 Houston Astros Minor League Player of the Year
- 1999 Winter League All-Star OF
- 1999 Winter League Player of the Year
- 1999 Philadelphia Phillies Player of the Year
- 2000 Philadelphia Phillies Player of the Year
- 2001 Philadelphia Phillies Player of the Year
- 2004 NL Silver Slugger Award (OF)
- 2004 All-Star
- 2005 Player of the Month -- April
- 2005 NL Golden Glove Award (OF)
- 2005 All-Star
- 2005 Winner of the Home Run Derby at the MLB All-Star game. (41 home runs over 3 rounds)
[edit] In the community
Abreu was involved in many events in the Philadelphia and Delaware Valley communities. In 2001, he was the Honorary Chairman for the American Red Cross Blood Drive.
Abreu bought $10,000 worth of tickets to most Friday night games for children in his "Abreu's Amigos" organization during the 2003 and 2004 seasons. In this program, the children got jerseys, coupons for concessions, and chances to meet Bobby Abreu on the field during batting practice.
Bobby was also the 2004 recipient of the Phillies Community Service award and the Phillies' representative for MLB's Roberto Clemente Award.
In 2008, Bobby made a contribution to the Police Athletic League of New York City through his Abreu's Finest charity wine to provide boys and girls with recreational, educational, cultural and social programs.
Bobby is known as "El Comedulce" in Venezuela. The name translates roughly to "the candy-eater," which had been his father Nelson Abreu's nickname. Following Nelson's death, Bobby "began asking people to call him the same name as a way of honoring his father's memory."[4]
[edit] See also
- 30-30 club
- List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
- List of Major League Baseball triples champions
- List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
- List of NL Silver Slugger Winners at Outfield
- Top 500 home run hitters of all time
- List of Major League Baseball players with 2000 hits
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
- List of Major League Baseball players with 300 stolen bases
[edit] References
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007) |
- ^ a b "Player Profiles Bobby Abreu". BaseballLibrary.com. http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Bobby_Abreu_1974. Retrieved on 2008-09-12.
- ^ "Matsui, Abreu win Final Vote". MLB.com. http://www.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20040707&content_id=792010&vkey=allstar2004&fext=.jsp&c_id=null. Retrieved on 2008-09-12.
- ^ Conlin, Bill (August 1 2006). "Another day that will live in Phils infamy" ([dead link] – Scholar search). The Philadelphia Daily News. http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports/columnists/bill_conlin/15169085.htm.
- ^ "BOBBY SWEET BY ANY NAME". New York Daily News. 2006-08-11. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/2006/08/11/2006-08-11_bobby_sweet_by_any_name_print.html. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bobby Abreu |
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
| Preceded by inaugural |
Mike Schmidt Most Valuable Player 2004 |
Succeeded by Pat Burrell & Chase Utley |
| Preceded by Derrek Lee |
National League Player of the Month May, 2005 |
Succeeded by Andruw Jones |
| Preceded by Miguel Tejada |
Century 21 Home Run Derby Champion 2005 |
Succeeded by Ryan Howard |
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