Jose Abreu (36-Houston Astros) spins around the bases after hitting a home run. Even the American public was surprised.
Abreu went 1-for-4 with a home run and one RBI while starting in the No. 5 spot in the lineup against the Oakland Athletics at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California, U.S., on Monday.
After striking out in his first at-bat in the second inning, Abreu grounded out to shortstop in his second at-bat in the fourth. With the bases loaded and his team leading 4-1 in the sixth, he retired the side on a foul fly to right field.
But in his final at-bat, he wasn’t done. With one out in the top of the eighth inning and a 6-1 lead, he took a three-pitch slider from Sam Long over the left field fence. It took him 51 games to hit his first home run of the season.
It was also his first home run in 260 at-bats since Sept. 14 of last year against Colorado in a Chicago White Sox uniform. He finally broke the longest home run drought of his career.
After hitting the home run, Abreu ran around the field very quickly in celebration. Normally, when you hit a home run, you run slowly, but Abreu quickly circled the diamond, crossed home plate, and slid toward his teammates in front of the dugout.
According to MLB.com, 안전놀이터 “Abreu didn’t look at the pitch. He ran nonstop around the bases at a speed of 26.2 feet (about 8 meters) per second,” according to MLB.com. It took him just 17.6 seconds to reach home plate.
“He was just happy, and he made the team happy,” Houston manager Dusty Bager said.
“I knew it was a home run when I touched first base, and that’s when I flipped the switch (on running),” Abreu laughed.
Abreu, a right-handed batting first baseman from Cuba, came to the White Sox on an international amateur contract. He spent nine years with the White Sox from his debut in 2014 until last year. In 1270 career games, he batted .292 with 1445 hits, 243 home runs, 863 RBIs, and an OPS of .860. He won the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year in 2014 and MVP in 2020. He was a three-time All-Star, a three-time Silver Slugger, and a two-time batting and on-base percentage leader.
In 157 games last year, he batted .304 with 183 hits, 15 home runs, 75 RBIs, and an OPS of .824. He was eligible for free agency after the season and signed with Houston instead of remaining with the Cubs. The deal was for three years and $60 million.
He didn’t get off to a great start with his new team. He batted just .214 with 42 hits, one home run, 19 RBI, and an OPS of .537. Now that he’s hit his first home run, it’ll be interesting to see if he can pick up the momentum.
