Bob Kelly Abreu is a sweet-swinging outfielder very smart base stealer who was signed by Houston Astros at the age of 16 as an amateur free agent in 1990. Abreu started his major league career with the Houston Astros on September 1, 1996 . Recognized as one of the most promising young hitters and strong-armed rightfielders in the game, Bobby in his nine years of MLB career is a .305 hitter with 166 home runs and 674 RBI in 1167 games played. After playing with the Astros for a very brief period of time on November 18, 1997, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays selected him in the first round (6th pick overall) of the expansion draft, but minutes later the Devil Rays traded Bobby Abreu to the Philadelphia Phillies for Kevin Stocker. Bobby has three siblings, Dennis played in Cubs' minor league system; Nielsen played in Phillies' minor league system; and Nelson played for Camden of the independent Atlantic League. In his first season with the Phillies, he led Phillies in hitting (.312) and on-base % (.409) and amassed 17 home runs, 74 RBI, and 19 stolen bases in 151 games played, with 271 putouts and 17 assists in right field. The following season he was more productive and reached career highs in average (.335), hits (183), triples (11), RBI (93) and walks (109). His .335 avg and 446 on-base% was ranked 3rd in NL. In 2001, he became first Phillie in the history of franchise to accomplish the 30 HR/30 SB mark when he hit 2 HR, 9/30 at Florida . The following season, he led the NL with 50 doubles, becoming only the 3rd Phillie ever to reach that plateau. In 2004, once again he accomplished 30 HR/30 SB season and en route to his 1st All-Star berth. He fetched career highs in walks (127) and steals (40). That same season, Bobby also earned his 1st Silver Slugger Award. He finished the season with a .301 average, 30 home runs and 105 RBI, and earned top five places among the National League top five offensive categories: 4th in runs (118) and doubles (47), 3rd in stolen bases (40), 2nd in walks (127) and 5th in on base percentage (.428). In 2005, Abreu was voted a starter of the NL outfield for the All-Star Game. |
