Bobby Abreu and the Phillies Hall of Fame
Bobby Abreu never was viewed as an elite superstar, yet his contributions over an outstanding 18-year career put him in the company of Hall of Famers such as Dave Winfield, Andrew Dawson, and Vladimir Guerrero.

On Monday, Abreu made his debut on the Hall of Fame ballot. He's one of six players on the 2020 Hall of Fame ballot with connections to Philadelphia. Curt Schilling, Raul Ibanez, Scott Rolen, Billy Wagner, and Raul Ibanez all spent portions of their career playing for the Phillies.

Abreu spent nine seasons with the Phillies and was inducted into the Phillies' Wall of Fame this past summer. He hit .303 over nine seasons in Philadelphia while hitting 195 homers and collecting 814 RBIs. He was also a two-time All-Star and won a Gold Glove award in 2005.

For his career, Abreu hit .291 and averaged 19 homers a season to go along with 91 RBIs. He finished his career with 60 Wins Above Replacement which is better than the output of Hall of Famers Willie Stargell (57.5) and Kirby Pickett (51.1).

Abreu is also one of just four players in baseball history to finish their career with 400-plus stolen bases and at least 250 home runs, the others being Craig Biggio, Rickey Henderson, and Barry Bonds.

“I really do think about it,” Abreu said this past summer, speaking about the Hall of Fame. “There are some numbers there. Right now, people have more time to see what I did in baseball. I know I don’t have 500 homers, but I did a lot of things in the game that right now people are starting to see what’s going on.”



Players need to appear on 75 percent of ballots from Baseball Writers' Association of America voters for enshrinement in Cooperstown.

Ibanez and Lee are also newcomers to the ballot, though neither likely will warrant serious consideration. Schilling received 60.9 percent of votes last year and, including this year, has two more attempts remaining to gain enshrinement.

The 2020 Hall of Fame ballot is headlined by first-time eligible Derek Jeter.

Results will be announced on January 20 with electees to be inducted on Sunday, July 26 in Cooperstown.
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Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PGordonPBR

BY PATRICK GORDON
Managing Editor
pgordon@philadelphiabaseballreview.com

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