While certainly not the biggest star of his day, Bobby Abreu was one of baseball’s most accomplished players in an era known for offense and has seen his Hall of Fame support rise in his five years on the ballot.
Abreu’s greatness began in 1998 with the Phillies, posting a 6.4 WAR campaign in his first season as a full-time player – after being dealt to Philadelphia the same day he was selected by the Devil Rays (from the Astros) in that year’s expansion draft.
An on-base machine before OBP was cool, Abreu reached base at a .402 clip with an .894 OPS from 1998-2010, averaging 21 homers and 95 RBI over that span. A low-key stolen base threat, Abreu finds himself in elite company as one of only six players in history with 250 home runs and 400 steals.
Abreu barely stayed on the Hall of Fame ballot in his first year with 5.5% of the vote but has gotten that number as high as 15.4%, obviously well short of the 75% required for election halfway through his 10 years on the ballot.
Here’s a closer look at Abreu’s Hall of Fame credentials:
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The case for Bobby Abreu
Over the course of his career (1996-2014), only Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Chipper Jones reached base more times than Abreu (3,979).
Other than Abreu, the only players with 250 career home runs and 400 steals are Rickey Henderson, Craig Biggio, Joe Morgan, Bobby Bonds and Barry Bonds. Abreu’s nine 20-20 seasons are the third most ever, behind the Bonds father-son duo who each did it 10 times.
Abreu’s seven-year stretch from 1998-2004 holds up pretty well against the first seven years of $765 million man Juan Soto’s career. While Soto’s youth makes the comparison somewhat apples-to-oranges, Abreu’s advantage in WAR and their strikingly similar slash lines – .308/.416/.525 for Abreu, .285/.421/.532 for Soto – show just how good the Venezuelan was in his prime.
The case against
Abreu’s excellence exists in the context of the Steroid Era and thus, his numbers were always overshadowed. Celebrated for his on-base acumen, Abreu never even led the league in OBP. His career-best .446 mark in 1999 was only good for fourth in baseball. Abreu also hit a career-high .335 that year, finishing seventh in the majors.
Abreu was among the best all-around hitters in the game, but his power numbers left something be desired, only hitting more than 25 home runs twice in his 18-season career.
The Phillies traded Abreu in 2006 – the year before their 14-year playoff drought ended – and he didn’t get to enjoy the spoils of the club’s success with longtime Philadelphia teammates like Pat Burrell and Jimmy Rollins, only playing 20 career postseason games.
Voting trends
2020: 5.5%
2021: 8.7%
2022: 8.6%
2023: 15.4%
2024: 14.8%
Bottom line
Halfway through his time at the ballot, it’s pretty clear that Bobby Abreu isn’t going to get into the Baseball Hall of Fame. His vote share should climb a bit more in the years to come, but last year’s stagnation crushed any hopes of a grassroots Cinderella run to 75%.
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