the consummate leader
abreu has been model of professionalism since joining sox
The trade deadline came and went, and first baseman Jose Abreu is still here.
The White Sox’ clubhouse and coaching staff are relieved.
And they’re hoping the guy they call ‘‘Pito’’ is still here beyond the end of the season, when the six-year contract he signed when he came over from Cuba expires.
A leader by example, Abreu is one of the first players to arrive for work every day. When he took his first day off Sunday — reluctantly — he ran up and down steps on the main concourse at Guaranteed Rate Field two hours before the game on a warm, muggy day.
This is why Sox hitting coach Todd Steverson calls Abreu, 32, ‘‘a blue-collar superstar.’’
Through Friday, Abreu was having another Abreu-type season with 23 homers and 77 RBI. Two non-baseball health issues last season might prevent him from having at least 25 homers and 100 RBI in each of his first six seasons.
‘‘The outsider looking in will say he’s a good player because of the numbers he has accomplished,’’ Steverson said. ‘‘But you have to watch him every day to really respect his game. I’m not saying he’s a [Mike] Trout, but he’s up there with
the elite, and he just steadily does his job, puts up his homers and RBI and keeps his batting average in the above-average range. He’s not a showman, but he gets the job done.’’
Abreu has voiced his desire to stay with the Sox — despite playing on nothing but losing teams on the South Side — at every opportunity.
‘‘He’s been to his [three] All-Star Games, but he has said it to me so many times: He wants to win with the White Sox, his first organization,’’ Steverson said.
Asked to describe Abreu’s swing in one word, Steverson chose ‘‘efficient.’’
‘‘Uses the whole field,’’ he said. ‘‘He’s not onedimensional.’’
In the age of defensive shifting, most teams are forced to play their second baseman on the right side of second base against Abreu.
‘‘That’s respect about how you can handle the bat,’’ Steverson said. ‘‘How they play you can be the greatest show of respect for you, in my opinion. They know he can take them out of the ballpark to left, center or right and also shoot one through the 4-hole for an RBI. That shows you they think you’re a good hitter.’’
Don’t the Sox know it.