José Abreu has never met an August he didn't like. Even in 2018, the only 162-game schedule in which he failed to amass at least 25 homers and 100 RBIs, he hit .338/.380/.676 before he underwent surgery for testicular torsion with 10 August days remaining. That was the first of two groin-related misfortunes he suffered to close out that season.
Sure enough, Abreu hit .330/.382/.661 with 10 homers, seven doubles and 25 RBIs this time around, and that earned him his second consecutive American Player of the Month for an August. Abreu leads all of baseball with 102 RBIs, putting him in position to lead the American League for three straight years.
James Fegan wrote about Abreu's turnaround -- or maybe Abreu's following a well-worn course, if he always has some sort of surge in August -- and found that the difference between a humming Abreu and a struggling one is hard to pin down based on typical discipline stats alone.
“I improved that,” Abreu said through Russo of his pitch selection. “The moment we talked that time, I was swinging at too many pitches out of the strike zone. Now, I’ve been more selective and swinging at pitches that are strikes. That’s why I’ve been having the success I have right now.”
Has he? Well, sort of, but in an extremely Abreu way. None of his plate discipline numbers have gone in the wrong direction, but the noticeable improvement is probably better described as swinging at strikes more (3.4 percentage point uptick) and letting fewer get through (5.8 percentage point uptick in zone contact). He’s improved his situation the way an aggressive hitter would, in that letting fewer strikes that can be put in play go by means he’s in fewer two-strike counts where he might be forced into a tough choice, or expanding the zone for the sake of trying to make something happen.
Because Abreu doesn't walk, and because he gets into ground-ball ruts, his body of work can run the risk of being underappreciated. But when you're on the verge of leading the league in RBIs three straight years despite a lack of traditional on-base monsters in front of you, at some point you have to trust the body of work, even if it doesn't seem like the most projectable method of success.
At FanGraphs, Kevin Goldstein wrote about what it was like pursuing Abreu from the perspective of a front office that didn't land him. Goldstein said the Astros and Rockies were the runners-up for Abreu's services because of the White Sox's willingness to offer a sixth year, and fortune has favored the Sox ever since.
He also picked up on a thread I left last November when wondering what kind of production the freshly minted MVP would need to generate a Hall of Fame case. I mentioned in that post that Abreu was on track to reach a couple of professional milestones as long as he avoided disaster. Sure enough, he surpassed 2,000 hits (2,123) and 400 homers (404) between his Cuban and MLB careers this year. He's still two years away from being eligible for HOF consideration by the standard rulebook, but he's showing no signs of slowing down.
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SPARE PARTS
There's a difference between indoor arenas and outside facilities like Guaranteed Rate Field, but I still wonder if we'll see this come to White Sox games before the end of the season, given the delta variant's ease of spread. It stands a chance of being more effective than any other security measure at the ballpark when it comes to public safety.
The Cubs' manager and team president were among those who got vaccinated and urged their hesitant/denier players to do the same, although not to much success. This probably isn't going to help matters. You know what might do more to help?
- Al Leiter, John Smoltz won't appear at MLB Network studios after refusing vaccine -- New York Post
- Astros mandate COVID-19 vaccine for non-playing, full-time employees -- Houston Chronicle
- Nationals will part ways with Bob Boone, others after vaccine mandate -- Washington Post
- Cubs issue COVID-19 vaccine mandate to all non-playing employees -- ESPN
Vaccine mandates are appearing in baseball through other channels for the time being, with the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals taking the boldest stance yet of tying vaccine status to employment status. Longtime Nationals advisor Bob Boone is the first one to willingly forgo his position in order to continue refusing the vaccine.
There could be a greater appetite for vaccine mandates at the player level if a team loses a chunk of its roster during a key part of the stretch. The Red Sox, Phillies and Mariners are all below the 85-percent threshold, and all have had numerous players sidelined for COVID-related reasons (positive tests and close contacts).
The Twins have a lot of pieces to put up more of a fight in 2022, but between trading José Berríos and losing Kenta Maeda to Tommy John surgery, they're short on good bets on the pitching side.
The Mets started their week with Francisco Lindor and Javier Báez giving fans the thumbs-down. It continued with acting general manager Zack Scott being charged for driving while intoxicated. Scott is the acting general manager because Sandy Alderson's first choice was fired due to sexual harassment of a female reporter.
And imagine what the Mets situation would look like if they got their wish and landed Bauer.
(Photo by Matt Marton/USA TODAY Sports)
