June 11 Off Day Feature... "Abreu's work, patience paying off"

By Caleb Breakey/MLB.com


NEW YORK -- Hitting coach Kevin Long calls him a seven-day-a-week guy, a practice-oholic. Manager Joe Torre dubbed him as perhaps the most influential hitter in the lineup, a cornerstone that every other Yankees batter builds from.

On Sunday against the Pirates, Bobby Abreu showed why his manager entrusts him with so much faith.

Abreu batted 4-for-4 and scored four times in a 13-6 win. He tripled, walked and posted three RBIs during his miniature hitting clinic that seemed riddled with unspoken statements:

I'll hit the ball the other way for extra bases.

I'll work the count full and wear out pitchers.

Heck, I'll just be the toughest out you've faced.

"You see him taking pitches, you see him walking, you see him swinging at good pitches, and you see him using the whole field," Long said. "He's probably as big a key to our offense as anyone in our lineup. When he's right in our three-hole, we're a different offensive unit. To me, he's the key to our offense."

Even though this type of production is considered the norm for Abreu, achieving it has been a season-long trudge. He hit .306 through April 23 before his batting average sputtered and bottomed out at .228 on May 30 against the Blue Jays.

But Abreu didn't panic, didn't change his routines, didn't see psychiatrists. No, he just did what he always does. He worked in the batting cages every day, Long said.

"I do soft toss and try to get my mechanics right," Abreu said. "I swing with one hand, two hands; just try to get my rhythm there."

That's why Long said he's never worried about Abreu at the plate. The batting average, the RBIs and the runs scored will come so long as Abreu works like he has throughout his career.

The Yankees' No. 3 hitter -- at least as of Sunday -- said he knew his slumping wasn't "him." It wasn't characteristic, wasn't his type of numbers. The most important aspect of his roller-coaster season thus far has been staying mentally strong, Abreu said. Now he owns a 10-game hitting streak.

"I never have negatives in my mind," Abreu said. "Even when I was in a slump, I knew it wasn't right. ... To me, the key to success is to stay positive. It's a long season."

Repetition after repetition, Abreu seems to have found his stroke after more than five weeks of struggling. And those around him in the Yankees lineup are beneficiaries, especially Alex Rodriguez, who launched two home runs on Sunday while hitting fourth in the lineup.

"It's a dream," A-Rod said. "It's a treat to hit behind him -- or in front of him, really."

Since the team left Toronto, Abreu's hitting has spiked in nearly every category. His average climbed from .228 to .272. His on-base percentage rose from .313 to .364. His slugging percentage bumped up from .289 to .370.

And to think it all started with him doing drills in a cage.

"I was never worried about Bobby coming out of it, because he works at it," Long said. "He's in the cages every single day, diligent with his work, and really, the drills that he works on are perfect. And his cage work through that whole [slumping] period? Perfect. It was just that feel and confidence in the game."

One of the unsung qualities of any patient hitter is walks. Well, Abreu has jogged from home plate to first at least 100 times in each of the past four seasons.

The secret behind the free passes -- as Torre, a former catcher, noted from his days behind the plate -- lies in the fact that Abreu is more of a push hitter. When he laces singles and doubles to the opposite side of the field, it means he's seeing the ball through the strike zone longer.

Long said the team jokes about Abreu's walking ability from the dugout. Every once in a while, when the left-handed Abreu falls behind in the count, 0-2, a teammate shuts out, "Hang on fellas -- he's going to be 3-2 in a minute."

"Bobby doesn't really care if the pitcher gets ahead of him. He's just sitting there, waiting for his pitch to hit, and he hasn't missed it in the past couple of weeks," Torre said. "I think a big advantage for any hitter -- and Bobby does it so well -- is when you're not trying to pull the ball, because you get to see the ball that split second longer. And when that happens, you're not going to be fooled as much; you're tougher to pitch to."