Advertisement

After a red-hot August, José Abreu turns his attention to the stretch drive for the Chicago White Sox: ‘We just have to keep working’

lamond pope, chicago tribune
·4 min read
After a red-hot August, José Abreu turns his attention to the stretch drive for the Chicago White Sox: ‘We just have to keep working’

José Abreu picked up an RBI in an unusual way in his first game of August, getting plunked with the bases loaded in the fifth inning against the Cleveland Indians.

He had a more traditional RBI in his final game of the month, homering against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In between, Abreu did what he normally does in August — produce big numbers.

Abreu earned American League Player of the Month for August for the second consecutive year. A slight adjustment helped pave the way this time.

“I was swinging at too many pitches out of the strike zone (before),” Abreu said through an interpreter Wednesday. “Now I’ve been more selective and swinging at pitches that are strikes. That’s why I’ve been having the success I have.”

In 28 games last month, he slashed .330/.382/.661 with seven doubles, 10 home runs, 25 RBIs and 22 runs.

“The numbers speak for themselves,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said before Saturday’s game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. “He started out getting big hits and he did it for the whole month. Did everything. Hit for an average, drove in a lot of important runs, scored some runs and played his great defense.

“Not to be disrespectful of who hit fourth (in the lineup behind him), but having Eloy (Jiménez) there (after missing time because of an injury), he feels more protected. When he has a better strike zone, he’s a better hitter.”

The recent success is nothing new for Abreu, who has a career slash line of .335/.390/.604 with 58 doubles, 56 home runs, 166 RBIs and 142 runs in 215 career August games. He entered Saturday hitting .263 overall with 28 home runs and a MLB-leading 102 RBIs.

Abreu had a run-scoring double in the fourth inning Saturday for the 500th extra-base hit of his career.

“It’s a testament to the work that he puts in, it’s a testament to the stuff that he takes seriously,” Sox hitting coach Frank Menechino said last week. “He’s a good hitter, and if you ask José Abreu, he’s had a bad year. You talk to José Abreu and ask him about some stuff, he’d be like, ‘You know what? This isn’t the best year of my life.’ But he finds a way, and that just goes to show you how hard he works and he takes it seriously and he takes pride in it.

“Driving in runs is not easy to do. Some people think, ‘Oh, you’ve got a man on second and third and one out or two outs, it’s a gimme. No outs or one out, it’s a gimme.’ It’s not a gimme. You’ve got to still execute your plan and sometimes you’re putting the pitcher’s pitch in play. It’s a testament to his work ethic and his pride.”

Abreu described his 2021 as “a season with ups and downs, everybody can see that.”

Still, he is in position to become the first player since Cecil Fielder (1990-92 with the Detroit Tigers) to lead the American League in RBIs in three consecutive seasons.

“My approach in the (RBIs) situation is to battle, battle to drive in the runs and do the best,” Abreu said. “I think that has to be the mindset in the middle of the lineup. You need to drive in a run, in those situations you have to battle to do it.”

Jiménez enjoys watching from the on-deck circle as Abreu hits. Although, he joked, there is a downside.

“I hit in front of him, I love him,” Jiménez said with a smile Tuesday. “But sometimes I hate hitting behind him (because there is no one left on base).

“But it’s good. I feel good for him. I feel really excited that he’s got the success that he has right now because I know he works really hard every single day, so it’s good. I don’t like hitting behind him, but I like when he has success.”

Jiménez said he has gained a lot playing alongside Abreu.

“He never gives up,” Jiménez said. “This season has been up and down for him a lot with the average and all that. But he’s just out there every single day no matter what. That’s the best I can take from him.”

Abreu is equally leaning on his teammates.

“Everybody on this team is trying to improve and trying to find ways to get better,” Abreu said. “I don’t doubt I’ve done it with the help of the whole team.”

After the scorching August, Abreu has turned his attention to the stretch drive.

“As a team, we’ve accomplished what we were supposed to do at this point,” Abreu said. “There are still many games left to play. We just have to keep working.”