Ed Wade has come under fire for his work as general manager of the Phillies, but he pulled off one of baseball's great heists when he traded SS Kevin Stocker for OF Bobby Abreu in 1997.
Abreu, though, is not fully appreciated by fans -- especially Philly fans. OK, he turns some fly balls into adventures, but he also has one of the best arms in the game. (He also gets accused of not hustling on defense, but I think it's more apprehension than lack of hustle. I don't think he's comfortable fielding balls). His arm prevents more runs than he causes with his defensive lapses. Last season he erased 13 baserunners. Plus you have to think of all the runners that don't try to take a base because of his arm.
Offensively, Abreu is a player unlike many in the majors.
Only one player has batted .300 or better, hit at least 20 HR, driven in at least 100, and stolen at least 20 bases in each of the past two seasons. His name is Bobby Abreu. In fact, Abreu was the only player to accomplish the feat in 2004 and was joined by just Carlos Beltran in reaching those levels in 2003.
Abreu is only the fourth player in MLB history to record six consecutive 20 HR - 20 SB seasons. He is the only Phillies player ever to have a 30 HR - 30 SB season, and he's done it twice. He has a career on-base percentage of .412, which is the 30th best in MLB history.
So give Ed a pat on the back for this one, and show Bobby some love.
1 comment:
As I said last night, I have finally come around to Bobby.
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