Jose Abreu has thus far proven to be a beast. How often do you hear about a guy joining the Majors out of the blue and lighting everyone up right out of the gate? Jose Abreu’s wife Maria Abreu is probably just happy to be here. The two of them defected from Cuba with their son. They don’t like talking about it, but it’s hard to see the downside other than leaving family and friends. The United States continues to embargo Cuba because, you know, we’re jerks.
Abreu signed a $68 million dollar contract after a brief stay in Haiti. Being a defector makes it a little easier to work towards citizenship because it means you have reason to stay away from your home country for safety sake. Generally a foreigner has to get an “O” Visa, designated for foreigners with special skills and abilities. Well, if it’s the special skill of hitting home runs into outer space, then you’ve got your man, Chicago. It’s also been pointed out that the White Sox has been a home to many Cuban players. Jose Contreras, Orlando Hernandez, Alexei Ramirez, and Dayan Viciendo are some that the Chicago Tribune named in an article in January explaining the trials and tribulations of Jose and Maria. Since this was before his first season started, there’s a short paragraph in the article wondering about his potential and if he’d have the ability to hit MLB pitchers.
The answer is yes: he’s smashed 26 home runs in 71 games so far, and he’s racked up 67 RBI’s. In his first 10 games, he clocked 14 RBI’s. The White Sox offices must have been elated. He continually declines to join the home run derby for some reason. In a brief interview a day ago, he told the reporter he’s just concentrating on helping his team win, and that he basically doesn’t care about the home run derby. Fair enough. It’s sort redundant. It’s like watching batting practice only on national television. I guess I agree with Jose.