Friday, September 15, 2017
Jose Abreu-White Sox
As I get
older, I tend not to focus on the negative aspects of life. I know
they are out there. It is easier to pay more attention to sport, and
the good things about it.
Jose Abreu
has a lot on his mind, nowadays. He was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba,
roughly translated as “One Hundred Fires”. It lies on the south
coast of Cuba, roughly one hundred miles south of Havana, as the crow
flies. You may have seen footage of the disaster brought by Hurricane
Irma on the north coast of Cuba in the past few days.
Most of the
Caribbean Islands have been ravaged by the storm, some islands
completely flattened. As I write, Irma is making her way through
northern Florida, and into other southern states. I have seen
estimates of hundreds of billions of dollars in damages. I have no
idea how much that would be. Quite a bit, I assume.
So ...Abreu
is playing baseball for the White Sox. He is a very talented player.
He was the “Rookie of the Year” for the American League in his
first season, 2014. After his third season with the White Sox, he
joined Albert Pujols and Joe DiMaggio as the only players ever to hit
25 home runs, 175 hits, and 100 runs- batted-in in that time span.
His career
batting average is .300, and he has 30 home runs so far this season.
While
playing against the San Francisco Giants recently, Abreu accomplished
a rare feat. In baseball jargon, he hit “for the cycle”. It means
that he had a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in one game.
It was the way he accomplished the cycle that made it
remarkable.
In his first
three plate appearances, he had banged out a home run, a double, and
a single. When he came to the plate for the fourth time, the crowd
began to stir. Abreu dug in at the plate, and fouled the first pitch
off his shin. Down he went, and the trainer rushed out to check on
him. He waved off all assistance. He had something else in mind, as
did the fans. He smacked the next pitch into the gap belween the
outfielders in right field. He peeked over his shoulder as he rounded
second base.
He slid
safely into third base, reording his first “cycle”. A remarkable
feat, considering the fact that he likely had a lot on his mind. Only
five other White Sox have hit for the cycle, the last one seventeen
years ago. Ray Shalk, Jack Brohamer, Carlton Fisk, Chris Singleton
and Jose Valentin are the only other White Sox to hit for the cycle.
He has
returned to Cuba a couple of times, since he defected in 2013. He
went on a good will trip with Major League players in 2015, and also
last October, when he had a chance to visit with his family in
Cienfuegos.
I am sure he
will want to go again this year, especially after seeing the damage
left by Hurricane Irma. Another fine athlete to keep an eye on for
the next few years, as he has the potential to become a super star in
the great game of baseball. And he just may have opened the door,
slightly mind you, to a place in Cooperstown.
James Hurst
September
12, 2017.
# posted by James Hurst @ 5:01 AM 
