Bobby Abreu

Career

Abreu started his major league career with the Houston Astros on September 1, 1996. He played only 74 games over two seasons. Left unprotected in the 1997 expansion draft when Houston decided to keep fellow Venezuelan outfielder Richard Hidalgo, Abreu was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but minutes later he was traded to the Phillies for shortstop Kevin Stocker.

Related Topics:
Houston Astros - 1996 - 1997 - Venezuela - Outfielder - Richard Hidalgo - Tampa Bay Devil Rays - Shortstop - Kevin Stocker

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Despite the fact that Astros and Devil Rays both deeming him expendable, Abreu firmly established himself as one of the most promising young hitters and strong-armed rightfielders in the game.

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In his first season with the Phillies, Abreu led his team with a .312 batting average and collected 17 home runs, 74 RBI, and 19 stolen bases in 151 games, with 271 putouts and 17 assists in right field. In 1999 he made a brief run at the batting title. His .335 average that season ranked third in the National League and was the highest posted by a Phillies player since outfielder Tony González hit .339 in 1967.

Related Topics:
Batting average - Home run - RBI - Stolen base - Putout - Assists - 1999 - National League - Tony González

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In 2001 Abreu reached career highs in home runs (31) and RBI (110), and hit .308 in 2002 and .300 a year later. Finally, in 2004, he got his first All-Star berth, being voted in as the "32nd man" in online voting on MLB.com. Abreu finished the season with a .301 average, 30 home runs and 105 RBI, and ranked among the National League top five in five offensive categories: runs (4th, 118), doubles (4th, 47), stolen bases (3rd, 40), walks (2nd, 127) and on base percentage (5th, .428). He also posted the league's tenth best OPS (.971) and eight highest in total bases (312).

Related Topics:
2001 - 2004 - All-Star - Runs - Doubles - Walks - On base percentage - OPS - Total bases

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Through 2004, Abreu is a .305 hitter with 166 home runs and 674 RBI in 1167 games.

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