Tag / Jose Abreu

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Fitbit VII – Week 36

I’m slightly down from last week, but still managed to stay over 30,000 steps for a third week in a row, which is what passes for an accomplishment these days.  Things got off to a slow-ish start on Sunday, as I managed 4100 steps while recuperating from the day before.  Monday was the high point of the week, surpassing 8000 steps thanks to Family Night at Wrigley Field.  Tuesday was Jose Abreu bobblehead night at Guaranteed Rate Field, which pushed me to 6000 steps.  Wednesday was a complete and total bust, falling down to 3000 steps.  Thursday saw a slight improvement, as I finished 2 steps shy of 3900.  Friday dropped me back down to 2500 steps.  A rainy Saturday left me with 18 steps away from 3900.

Total steps: 31,693

Daily average: 4527.6

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September All Time Leaders – Through 2020

With a full year of baseball on tap after last year’s troubles due to a combination of the corona virus and needless labor squabbles, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for each month in games that I have attended.

As we head in to fall and the pennant races start to heat up, the return to school and teams falling well out of contention has played a part in my attending 124 games during the month, my lowest total since March.  I’ve managed to see a game nearly every day of the month, with 8 games on the 2 separate occasions leading the way, and no games on the 22nd or the 26th.

Home Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 20
Jose Abreu 10
Jim Thome 7

Hits

Name Total
Paul Konerko 47
Jermaine Dye 35
Alexei Ramirez 33

Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 36
Alexei Ramirez 20
Jermaine Dye 18
Jose Abreu 18

RBI

Name Total
Paul Konerko 38
Jose Abreu 23
Alexei Ramirez 21

Doubles

Name Total
A.J. Pierzynski 7
Jermaine Dye 6
Juan Uribe 6
Yolmer Sanchez 6

Triples Continue reading →

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July All Time Leaders – Through 2020

With a full year of baseball on tap after last year’s troubles due to a combination of the corona virus and needless labor squabbles, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for each month in games that I have attended.

As we continue through the summer months, the warm weather has played a part in my attending 161 games during the month of July, my largest total.  I’ve managed to see a game on every day of the month, despite the 3 day All Star break which falls around the same time every year, with 10 games on the 4th leading the way, thanks to Independence Day fireworks shows, and 3 games on the 6 different dates bringing up the rear.

Home Runs

Name Total
Derrek Lee 10
Paul Konerko 9
Moises Alou 8
Sammy Sosa 8

Hits

Name Total
Alexei Ramirez 54
Jose Abreu 50
Derrek Lee 44
Paul Konerko 44

Runs

Name Total
Derrek Lee 24
Alexei Ramirez 22
Jose Abreu 19
Paul Konerko 19

RBI

Name Total
Derrek Lee 28
Jose Abreu 28
Aramis Ramirez 27

Doubles

Name Total
Gordon Beckham 10
Jose Abreu 9
Aramis Ramirez 9

Triples Continue reading →

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2021 All Star Break Batting Leaders

The All Star Game is in the books, as the American League extended its winning streak to 8 straight and White Sox closer Liam Hendriks earned the save, only the second White Sox player to do so.  As baseball takes the day off to prepare for the second half, let’s take a look at the first half offensive leaders for the 32 games I attended, starting with:

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 5
Javier Baez 4
Adam Eaton 3
Patrick Wisdom 3
Yasmani Grandal 3
Carlos Santana 3
Brad Miller 3

Hits

Name Total
Tim Anderson 28
Yoan Moncada 26
Jose Abreu 24
Nick Madrigal 21
Yermin Mercedes 14

Runs

Name Total
Tim Anderson 17
Jose Abreu 14
Continue reading →
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May All Time Leaders – Through 2020

With a full year of baseball on tap after last year’s troubles due to a combination of the corona virus and needless labor squabbles, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for each month in games that I have attended.

As the weather starts to turn for the better, Memorial Day weekend has played a part in my attending 160 games during the month. I’ve managed to see a game on every day of the month of May, with 10 games on the 22nd and a single game on the 11th.

Home Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 12
Sammy Sosa 7
Corey Patterson 7
Alfonso Soriano 7
Derrek Lee 7
Jermaine Dye 7

Hits

Name Total
Alexei Ramirez 49
Paul Konerko 47
Derrek Lee 47
Alfonso Soriano 47

Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 29
Alexei Ramirez 23
Derrek Lee 23

RBI

Name Total
Paul Konerko 41
Aramis Ramirez 28
Alexei Ramirez 25

Doubles

Name Total
Alexei Ramirez 11
Alfonso Soriano 10
Aramis Ramirez 9
Jose Abreu 9

Triples Continue reading →

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End Of The Road?

With only four months remaining on the 10-year, $240 million contract signed following to the 2011 season, the Angels decided to cut ties with Albert Pujols, designating the future Hall of Fame baseball person for assignment yesterday.  “It’s more about opportunity,” GM Perry Minasian said of Pujols, to date, had posted an OPS 80 points below the league average in his age-41 season.  “Albert is not a bench player. We felt like, for him, with respect to him, keeping him on the bench, him not getting any playing time, would not do him any good or the team any good.”

Pujols is reportedly steadfast in his desire to continue playing, but it’s hard to see a good fit for him, especially with no DH in the National League.  Some speculation mentioned the White Sox as a potential landing spot, given the relationship between Pujols and Tony La Russa, but, unless Pujols is suddenly able to play the outfield, you would think the presence of Jose Abreu and Yermin Mercedes would preclude any such reunion.  If I had to guess, I would say this is the end of Pujols’ long and distinguished career.

Thanks to the profitable nature of the Cubs/Cardinals rivalry, I didn’t see Pujols play in person as often as I could have during his prime, but he’s still in the top 5 of games played for non-Chicago players in my history.  His numbers, both for games I attended and overall, were:

Continue reading →

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Active Batting Leaders – Through 2020

baseballs2Last month, we looked at the overall leaders on both sides of the ball from all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2020.  With spring training managing to keep going despite the continuing pandemic due to the corona virus, Opening Day is right around the corner.  Let’s take another look at those numbers, limiting it to players that are still active heading in to the 2021 season.

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 36
Tim Anderson 16
Avisail Garcia 15
Gordon Beckham 15
Melky Cabrera 14

Hits

Name Total
Jose Abreu 193
Gordon Beckham 146
Melky Cabrera 132
Tim Anderson 113
Adam Eaton 105

Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 89
Gordon Beckham 85
Tim Anderson 62
Avisail Garcia 58
Adam Eaton 52

RBI

Name Total
Jose Abreu 106
Gordon Beckham 71
Melky Cabrera Continue reading →
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RIP MVP

Former White Sox first baseman Dick Allen, who many claim saved the franchise with his MVP performance in 1972, passed away today at the age of 78.  Allen was acquired after the 1971 season, when attendance at Comiskey Park had cratered and the team had finished 22½ games out of first place.  The addition of Allen sparked an unforeseen pennant race in 1972, with the Sox in contention for most of the season, finishing 5½ games behind the A’s in the AL West and drawing more than 1.18 million fans, more than double what they drew in 1970.

Allen only spent 3 years in Chicago, making the All Star team each time.  A broken leg cut short his 1973 campaign and, with two weeks to go in the 1974 season, Allen left the team over a feud with teammate Ron Santo.  Not knowing if Allen planned to return to baseball, the Sox sold his contract to the Braves for $5000, at which point Allen retired.  He eventually returned to the game, playing parts of 3 seasons before retiring for good in 1977, finishing his career going 2 for 5 in a double header against, of course, the White Sox.

Allen was in the news recently, as Jose Abreu joined him as one of only 4 players to win the MVP award for the White Sox.  Allen was complimentary of both Abreu and Chicago, calling his tenure with the White Sox the best time of his career.

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By The Numbers – 79

In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees.  By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues.  Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #79.  Once again, a single player has donned #79 while playing in Chicago, debuting in 2014 for the White Sox.

It’s a shame that Jose Abreu is the only player to wear #79 in White Sox history, as he would easily beat out the competition had there been any.  He was signed by the White Sox in October of 2013 after defecting from Cuba in August.  He made his major league debut the following March and took home Rookie of the Year honors in 2014.  He topped that this past season, bringing home the MVP in the corona virus shortened season, leading the White Sox to the post-season for the first time since 2008.  He wears #79 because it was picked by his mother. so that people would remember him.  She wasn’t wrong.