La Russa: “Abreu is one of the Best of All Time”

With two outs and the Chicago White Sox trailing the Yankees by one run Saturday night, hope for those on the south side of the “Windy City” was waning. Joseph Abreu He walked up to the plate with the game on the line. As he has throughout his career, the 2020 AL MVP rose to the occasion. Abreu had an excellent eight-pitch at-bat and showed why he is a professional hitter, as reported by PelotacubanaUSA.

With a full count, he was sitting on a curve. He swung two fastballs defensively to keep his at-bat alive until he finally landed the pitch he was looking for, a Chad Green curveball that hung and broke just above the heart of the plate. Abreu made Green pay for his mistake by putting the ball 415 feet into the left field bleachers. Abreu is not one of those who show much emotion. Indeed, a stoic leader, but even he could not hide his enthusiasm. He clapped his hands as he ran out of the box as the crowd erupted into a frenzy. Jose Abreu has been everything Chicago has needed and much more.

There has been no shortage of exciting moments this season and Saturday night was no exception. Still, Abreu’s solo homer was a milestone for the veteran first baseman. It was his 222nd home run that outscored Hall of Famer Harold Baines (221) for the third-most homers in the league. history of the White Sox. Abreu is only behind Frank Thomas (448) and Paul Konerko (432).

“I am happy for this new mark that I have just reached,” Abreu said. “It was not something I would have ever imagined.” Harold Baines offered remarks: “He is very well earned and speaks to his impact on this organization. As we all know, José is a great person and a great baseball player. The respect is truly mutual. “By now, it’s pretty obvious that Abreu has established himself as one of the all-time greats of the White Sox. But could he be considered one of the all-time greats of baseball? Manager and Hall of Famer Tony La Russa knows a thing or two about the best of baseball. He led legends like Ricky Henderson and Albert Pujols. In Sunday’s pregame Zoom session, Tony La Russa surrendered to Jose Abreu’s highest compliment: “I think he’s one of the best players in Major League history because of the RBIs, the consistency of being a decisive run producer,” La Russa explained. “He’s not a home run hitter or anything … He’s going to get a single or a double. But, yeah, I think he’s on that list with the best running, home run / RBI producers in the history of the game, and he still has it left. much”.

Abreu has been a model of coherence and that was demonstrated to the maximum last week. He’s playing his best baseball of the season. On Thursday, with the United States watching, the White Sox played in a cornfield on national television and Abreu hit the first major league home run in the state of Iowa. He followed that with four hits Saturday, including two doubles and his home run. who tied the game for ninth. On Sunday, Abreu extended his hitting streak to 12 games with six homers in that span.

All José Abreu has done since he came to the majors is produce. From his rookie year until now, he has been a model of consistency at the plate. Abreu has also worked tirelessly to improve his defense and has become a first baseman of the caliber of the Gold Glove. In the meantime, he has served as the mentor and leader of a burgeoning championship team. Tony La Russa may not be far behind with his assessment. José Abreu is one of the greats of all time as a player and as a person.