One of the names that may be a key to the Yankees/Anaheim ALCS is none other than Bobby Abreu. He continues to quietly rack up productive seasons. Maligned in Philadelphia for his “passionless” play, Abreu’s career seemed to be headed downward when he was traded in July of 2006. Many, including me, thought he might be done after hitting around the Mendoza line in May of 2007. He would turn it around that summer (OPS just under 1.000 July/August) and put together a solid campaign.

Tyler Kepner of the NY Times had this to say yesterday on Twitter:

Players who match Bobby Abreu in career hits, avg, OBP and slugging: Edgar Martinez, Frank Thomas, Manny, Chipper, Helton and 10 HOFers.

That had me revisit this article from August of 2008 regarding Bobby Abreu and the Hall of Fame. As I mentioned before I have three areas I look at when making my decision:

1)Production at position
2)Consistency
3)Historic Seasons

Abreu’s position hurts him a great deal because the plethora of outfielders in the Hall of Fame with better power numbers. He also might not hit a magic number in hits, homers, and batting average. However, looking at OPS+, Abreu does have a benchmark of consistency and historic seasons. I usually take seasons 20% or over and catalog them as “historic”. Eleven of his 14 seasons to date meet the Silva “historic” factor. He also hasn’t performed below league average since he became a regular in 1999.

Is Bobby Abreu a difference maker? Writers and fans in Philadelphia and New York would probably say no. Don’t tell that to Mike Scioscia who called Abreu the Angels MVP. This is nothing to sneer at as Anaheim lost a potential league MVP in Mark Teixeira and replaced him with Abreu.

It’s a tough call, no doubt. A couple of years ago I would have given Abreu and the Hall of Fame a resounding no. Looking at potentially 2,500 hits, .300 career batting average, and 300 homers gives me reason to rethink that position. Obviously that gives other candidates who are on the outside looking in, like Andre Dawson, more credence.

Some think Abreu’s impact in this series will be overlooked. With steroids shrinking the candidate pool from the last 15 years Bobby Abreu is certainly a bubble candidate, but not a crazy discussion anymore. Maybe he is not just overlooked in this series, but in his career as well.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

Mike Silva

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Tags: Anaheim Angeles, Bobby Abreu, Bobby Abreu for the Hall of Fame, New York Yankees