First Baseman, Chicago White Sox
Age: 27
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’3” Weight: 235
Prior to 2014:
A native of
Cienfuegos, Cuba, Abreu was the son of a former semipro catcher. He began
playing youth baseball at seven. As he developed as a player, he built up his
lanky frame and made it to Cuba’s top tier, the Serie Nacional. In the 2003-04 season,
his first, he batted a solid .271 for the Cienfuegos club at age 16. By 2005-06
he hit .337 with 11 home runs and 64 RBIs. A selective hitter with power, he
could hit to all fields and had a good work ethic. His production continued to
improve, and he batted .399 in 2009-10 with 30 home runs and 76 RBIs. In
2010-11 Abreu missed nearly a third of the season and still clubbed a record 33
home runs while hitting .453 in 67 games. He made it to the Cuban national team
and performed well in the 2011 Baseball World Cup and Pan American Games.
Following the 2013 World Baseball Classic, he made the decision to defect to
the United States. Following a harrowing passage to Haiti in August of 2013,
Abreu worked out for American scouts and signed with the White Sox for six years
and $68 million. It was anticipated that he would be the starting first baseman
in 2014 and add a potent bat to the middle of the lineup.
2014 Season Summary
Appeared in 145
games
1B – 109, DH – 35,
PH – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 622
At Bats – 556
Runs – 80
Hits – 176 [11]
Doubles – 35 [10,
tied with five others]
Triples – 2
Home Runs – 36
[3, tied with Mike Trout]
RBI – 107 [4]
Bases on Balls
– 51
Int. BB – 15 [4]
Strikeouts – 131
[19, tied with Shin-Soo Choo]
Stolen Bases – 3
Caught Stealing
– 1
Average - .317
[5]
OBP - .383 [5]
Slugging Pct. -
.581 [1]
Total Bases – 323
[2]
GDP – 14
Hit by Pitches
– 11 [4, tied with Alex Gordon & Brandon Guyer]
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 4
League-leading
slugging percentage was +.016 ahead of runner-up Victor Martinez
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 20, HR – 29, RBI – 73, AVG – .292, SLG – .630
---
Most hits, game
– 3 on fourteen occasions
Longest hitting
streak – 21 games
Most HR, game –
2 (in 5 AB) at Colorado 4/8, (in 4 AB) vs. Cleveland 4/10, (in 5 AB) vs. Tampa
Bay 4/25, (in 3 AB) at Toronto 6/27
HR at home – 15
HR on road – 21
Multi-HR games
– 4
Most RBIs, game
– 6 vs. Tampa Bay 4/25
Pinch-hitting –
0 for 1 (.000)
Fielding
Chances – 1045
Put Outs – 970
Assists – 69
Errors – 6
DP - 105
Pct. - .994
Awards & Honors:
AL Rookie of
the Year: BBWAA
All-Star
Silver Slugger
4th in
AL MVP voting (145 points, 35% share)
AL ROY Voting (Top
5):
Jose Abreu,
ChiWS.: 150 pts. – 30 of 30 first place votes, 100% share
Matt Shoemaker,
LAA: 40 pts. – 27% share
Dellin
Betances, NYY: 27 pts. – 18% share
Collin McHugh,
Hou.: 21 pts. – 14% share
Masahiro
Tanaka, NYY: 16 pts. – 11% share
---
White Sox went 73-89
to finish fourth in the AL Central Division, 17 games behind the
division-winning Detroit Tigers. Abreu, who more than met
expectations with his bat, and LHP Chris Sale were the two best players on a
disappointing team.
Aftermath of ‘14:
Following up on
his big rookie season, Abreu batted .290 with 30 home runs and 101 RBIs in 2015
for a White Sox club that failed to meet expectations and lacked sufficient
power production around him. His hitting remained solid in 2016 as he batted
.293 with 32 doubles, 25 home runs, and 100 RBIs. Once more a productive hitter
with a losing team in 2017, Abreu batted .304 with 43 doubles, 33 home runs,
and 102 RBIs. Limited to 128 games due to injuries in 2018 (and only 35
following the All-Star break), he hit .265 with 22 home runs and 78 RBIs. Abreu
rebounded in 2019 by leading the AL with 123 RBIs while batting .284 with 38
doubles and 33 home runs. He re-signed with the White Sox in the offseason for
three years and $50 million. Appearing in 60 games in the pandemic-shortened
2020 season he again led the American League in RBIs (60) as well as hits (76),
slugging (.617) and total bases (148) while also batting .317 with 19 home
runs. He received AL MVP honors for his performance and the White Sox reached
the postseason. For his major league career through the 2021 All-Star break, he
has batted .291 with 1192 hits that include 247 doubles, 15 triples, and 213
home runs. He has scored 571 runs and compiled 737 RBIs with a .349 OBP and
.515 slugging percentage. Abreu has been a three-time All-Star and has been
awarded three Silver Sluggers as well.
---
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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