José Pito Abreu is the best Cuban batter of the present century

May 5, 2022

From the year 2000 to the present, there have been several Cuban players who have stood out with the bat in the best baseball league in the world. Surely names like Kendrys Morales, Yonder Alonso, Yoenis Céspedes, Yunieski Betancourt, Yunel Escobar, Alexei Ramírez, Yasiel Puig (active in the KBO) or the active players Randy Arozarena, Yordan Álvarez, Adolis García, Yuli Gurriel, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Yasmani Grandal, Yoán Moncada, Luis Robert or Jorge Soler come to mind.

The first group mentioned brings together formidable batters, the second a group of talented players who are also contributing much offensively and have yet to make history. But the best Cuban slugger in this century so far and the man to whom this piece is dedicated, José Dariel Abreu or simply "Pito."

The current first baseman for the White Sox is the main reference point for this Chicago franchise. From 2014 to Sunday, May 1st, 2022, Pito is the second greatest RBI leader in the Major Leagues. He is only surpassed by the third baseman for St. Louis Cardinals, Nolan Arenado. Abreu has accumulated 795 RBIs in 1133 games, while "Nado" has 831 RBIs in 1123 games played.

The native of Cienfuegos, Cuba, made his MLB debut on March 31, 2014 at the age of 27 years and 61 days. Had he arrived in the Majors at a younger age, his current numbers would surely have a Hall of Fame projection. Although we also cannot rule out that possibility. Abreu's offensive performance each season reflects impressive consistency and productivity.

Last January 29th, Pito turned 35 years old and in 9 seasons (counting the current one) he has accumulated 1278 hits, 266 doubles, 230 home runs and 795 RBIs. If we consider the possibility that the Cuban plays six more seasons in the Majors and achieves at least 150 hits, 30 doubles, 30 home runs and 100 RBIs on average in each of them, his total numbers in these important offensive categories would be: 2178 hits, 446 doubles, 410 home runs and 1395 runs produced.

Of course, this is just a hypothesis. Pito might not reach these figures for different reasons, such as poor performance or possible injuries (hopefully that doesn't happen). But it's also possible that he surpasses those marks; the future is unpredictable. For now his batting average line shows a formidable .289/.350/.512.

Furthermore, he was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2014, has three All-Star Game appearances (2014, 2018 and 2019), has won three Silver Slugger awards (2014, 2018 and 2020) and was the Most Valuable Player of his league in 2020 (in six contests he has been in the top 25). In that same season (2020), he was named Player of the Year in the Major Leagues, made the second All-MLB team and was the deserving recipient of the Hank Aaron award in the American League.

Pito is a natural RBI producer; in six seasons he has driven in 100 or more runs, leading his league in this category on a couple of occasions (2019 and 2020). He was the American League leader twice in Slugging (2014 and 2020) and in Total Bases (2017 and 2020). Additionally, in 2020 he was the player who hit the most hits in his league and the third in all of MLB.

On four occasions Pito has been named Player of the Month and six times Player of the Week in the American League. In 2014 he was selected Rookie of the Month on three occasions. Among active players, he holds the 31st highest offensive WAR (28.8) and the 18th best batting average (.289). He is 34th in OBP (.350), 16th in OPS (.862), 26th in Total Bases (2266), 20th in Home Runs (230) and 19th in RBIs (795).

Since Abreu left Cuba in August 2013 and signed on October 29th a six-year, $68 million contract with the White Sox (his only team in MLB to date), he took over the first base position, being a starter from that Opening Day game in 2014.

Whether he will have sufficient numbers or not to be a future member of the Cooperstown Hall of Fame is a difficult question to predict. But what there is no doubt about is that no other player born in Cuba has been a better batter in this century than Pito Abreu. The Cuban is a serious threat to any opposing pitcher; his nickname defines him perfectly: "Bad Weather."