Jose Abreu: Crackerjacks Top AL Rookie in 2014

Jul 29, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu (79) at bat against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

We knew that there was a chance that Jose Abreu would be good. Granted, there’s always a cloud of mystery with international players and when you consider how little we actually can see, there’s even more mystery with Cuban players.

But he seemed to compare favorably to Yoenis Cespedes and Yasiel Puig, who both made a big impact fast. Having said that, I’m not so sure that many people were expecting this out of Jose Abreu. Not this soon, anyway.

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Those numbers were good enough to make him not only the Crackerjacks Rookie of the Year for 2014, but he won that vote unanimously.

Maybe you expected a good average. Maybe you expected some good power. But even though his power did fade a bit coming down the stretch, Abreu’s 2014 was good enough to make me wonder if he can contend for a Triple Crown at some point in his career. I know that may not quite carry the same prestige with some statisticians as it once did. But I think we can all agree that if someone can contend for a Triple Crown, he’s probably a pretty good hitter.

Now, Abreu was the unanimous choice, but a few other rookies do deserve recognition. Astros teammates Collin McHugh and George Springer were very good. Dellin Betances was a dominant force coming out of the Yankees bullpen and may well be on his way to being the next great closer. The closest competitor was Betances’ Yankees teammate, Masahiro Tanaka.

Tanaka was having a tremendous year until an injury in July cost him most of the second half of the season. The bigger fear is that while he did come back at the end, it seems like Tommy John Surgery is more of a “When” not “If” possibility, and it’s unfortunate that that’s become a reality for so many this year.

But none of that disparages Abreu in any way. The White Sox slugger set his foot down in 2014, showing us what could be one of the game’s best hitters for a long time.