Tag Archives: Wrigley Field

Jose Abreu Named MLB’s American League MVP

Posted on by
Reply

Jose Abreu is this season’s American League star…

The 33-year-old Cuban professional baseball player, a first baseman for the Chicago White Sox, has won the American League MVP award after helping power the team to its first playoff berth in 12 years.

Jose Abreu

Abreu received 21 of 30 first-place votes and 374 points in voting announced by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez was second with eight first-place votes and 303 points, and New York Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu, who won the AL batting crown, followed with one first-place vote and 230 points. 

Voting by the BBWAA was completed by the start of the playoffs. It has voted for the award since 1931.

Abreu led the majors with 60 RBIs and 148 total bases, and topped the AL with 76 hits and a .617 slugging percentage. He played in all 60 games during the virus-shortened season as Chicago claimed a wild-card spot.

Surrounded by family members, Abreu put his head down for a minute after hearing he’d won and teared up.

“That was a very special moment,” he said through an interpreter.

Abreu batted .317 with 19 home runs, connecting six times in a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs in late August. That barrage of long balls at Wrigley Field was part of his 22-game hitting streak, the longest in the majors this year.

Abreu gave credit to manager Rick Renteria, who left the team after the season in what was described as a mutual decision. Recently hired Hall of Fame skipper Tony La Russa is now facing charges in a drunken driving arrest; Abreu said he was eager to play for La Russa.

“Keep pushing forward, keep moving forward,” Abreu said.

Abreu was the 2014 AL Rookie of the Year and is a three-time MLB All-Star. He became the fourth White Sox player to win the AL MVP, joining Frank Thomas (1993-94), Dick Allen (1972) and Nellie Fox (1959).

Abreu was the third Cuban-born player to be an MVP, along with Jose Canseco and Zoilo Versalles.

Urias to Make MLB History During Game 4 of the National League Championship Series

Posted on by
Reply

Julio Urias is ready to hit the mound while making history in the process…

The 20-year-old Mexican professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers will start in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs.

Julio Urias

When he throws his first pitch, Urias will become the youngest postseason starting pitcher in Major League Baseball history, surpassing a mark previously held by Bret Saberhagen, when he took the mound as a 20-year-old in 1984.

Urias will be 20 years, 68 days old when he pitches in Game 4.

“Julio, I think that we expect him to just go out there and compete, use his pitch mix and go after these guys,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Give us a chance to win a baseball game. It’s what Julio’s done all year long.”

The Mexico native made his major league debut at the age of 19, when he took on the New York Mets in New York on May 27. It was a rough night, as he lasted just 2 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and four walks.

Five days later, he made his first of two appearances against the Cubs and struggled again, giving up six runs (five earned) on eight hits in five innings at Wrigley Field.

Urias rebounded to go 5-2 in his rookie season with a 3.39 ERA in 18 appearances, 15 of them starts. Taking out those first two outings, Urias posted a 2.73 ERA. In his second matchup with the Cubs, at home on Aug. 27, he gave up one run on six hits in six innings while matching a season high with eight strikeouts. He earned his fifth victory of the season in that game.

He will enter Wednesday’s outing, though, having been used sparingly down the stretch. Urias pitched just 14 innings in September as the Dodgers curtailed his innings. They had originally decided to move him to the bullpen in an attempt to limit his innings, but he has been on hand as a fourth starter since the postseason started.

He was not asked to start in the five-game NL Division Series, although he did pitch two scoreless innings in the Dodgers’ Game 5 victory, earning a spot in the NLCS.

Urias has thrown as many as 100 pitches just once this season and reached the 90-pitch mark just four times. Roberts said he is less concerned with pitch count this time around and will primarily monitor effectiveness.

“I think that we’ve kind of monitored his usage throughout the regular season, but I think right now for me, it’s not necessarily the pitch count,” Roberts said. “A lot of it is the stressful innings, too. It’s going to be a big game. So if he’s throwing the baseball the way we expect, then I’m not afraid to push him to help us win a baseball game.”