The Bobby Abreu Conundrum

The first time Bobby Abreu appeared in an opposition uniform at Citizens Bank Park on June 4, 2012, he stepped to the plate and was met with a chorus of boos.  He promptly singled, driving in the first run of the game and helping his new team, the Los Angeles Dodgers,
to an eventual 4-3 win. Bobby ended up 2-for-4 with that RBI, a typical Abreu game. He had been traded away from the Phillies in 2006. Despite his superior play, he never engendered much love from the Phillies Phaithful and upon his return he was met with the standard Phillies fan sign of disapproval - the boo.

Fast forward to 2022 and Bobby Abreu is a candidate for the Hall of Fame. While most experts agree that his credentials for induction are borderline, and few think he will get in this year, there can be no question that Abreu belongs in the Hall of Fame conversation. And yet, unlike Dick Allen or Jimmy Rollins or past players like Richie Ashburn, we hear no groundswell of support out of Phillies fans for the candidacy of Bobby Abreu. This confounds me. I was lucky enough to see Bobby play in about 20 games a year for his entire career in Philadelphia, 1998-2006 and what I saw was the finest pure hitter the Phillies ever had, an on base machine with a great sense of the strike zone, and a man with a spectacular combination of speed and power who averaged nearly 30 stolen bases and 20 home runs a season. His numbers are off the charts as you can see below.

What you will also see is a player who was remarkably consistent. Every year, year in and year out, Bobby hit around .300, had about 170 hits, 35 or more doubles, 20 home runs, 30 stolen bases, and most impressively 150+ games played. Abreu played every day. He rarely took a day off. He played through all the bumps and bruises and aches that come from playing baseball every day. All this and yet Abreu could not gain the love of the Phillies fans. It doesn't make sense.

What was the gripe against Abreu? Well, he wouldn't run into walls, and he had the audacity to say so. As he told the Philadelphia Daily News in 2006, "I play hard. I might not dive. I might not run into walls. I play every day. I play hurt. I hear what people say. They say I don't play hard. They say I don't care...I care." Abreu was not a great defensive right fielder, but in his early years in Philadelphia he was at least average, and he did possess a strong throwing arm. As he got older, his outfield play deteriorated, but that was after his days in Philadelphia as he was used more and more as a designated hitter in the American League.  

Aaron Rowand became a folk hero in Philadelphia by running into a wall and making a spectacular catch in centerfield with the bases loaded. That seems to be the kind of play many Phillies fans expect from their heroes. I watched the replay of Rowand's catch recently. I noticed that as Rowand crashed into the wall. Bobby Abreu was right in the picture, having hustled all the way over to back up the play. Abreu may not have crashed into walls, but he cared, he hustled, he did his job in the outfield.

Another complaint about Abreu was that he was a statistic accumulator and not a team player. Larry Bowa, who managed Abreu for the Phillies from 2001-2004, said, "I think the one knock against Bobby - was he would hit with a man on third base and less than two outs, and he'd take pitches like two inches off the plate, And I told him, I said, 'Bobby, I need you to drive that run in, man. You can expand the zone a little bit.' And he said, 'Bo, I know what the strike zone is, I'm not going out of my element there.' And you know, that's what made him successful. This guy could work a pitcher." 

Ultimately, I think the failure of Phillies fans to embrace Abreu comes down to his laid-back style. Much of the game of baseball came easy to Bobby and it looked that way to the fans. Philadelphia fans do not generally respond well to laid back ballplayers. They like their players fiery like Larry Bowa or Jimmy Rollins or John Kruk or Dave Hollins. More nonchalant players like Mike Schmidt, Cole Hamels, or going way back, Del Ennis, do not attract the same kind of adulation as those players who wear their hearts on their sleeves. Older fans may remember that both Ennis and Schmidt, the premiere Phillies sluggers of their day, were often booed unmercifully for perceived failures.

Bowa believes that Abreu belongs in the Hall of Fame, if not now, eventually. "But his work ethic, people took him for granted a lot. I look at his numbers and they are eye-popping numbers, believe me. I am not saying he is a first-time ballot Hall of Famer, but I think eventually, this guy should be in the Hall of Fame."

Whether Bobby Abreu is a true Hall of Famer or not is up to debate. What should not be up to debate is that he deserves to be embraced by the city of Philadelphia and the fans of the Phillies for his outstanding on the field performance over a sustained period of time. In the pantheon of Phillies right fielders Abreu stands at the top with Chuck Klein, Johnny Callison, and maybe someday, Bryce Harper.