Fitting In
Tempe,Arz – If Bobby Abreu needs a personal public relations rep, all he has to do is nod to his teammate a few lockers down in the Angels’ spring clubhouse.
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Torii Hunter is enthusiastic about Abreu joining the club – to say the least.
“He’s a .400 on-base percentage guy. The guy has 20-plus stolen bases each of the past 10 years and 100 RBIs and 100 runs in the last five,” Hunter said, rapidly reeling off the stats. “I’ve played against him forever, we’ve known each other for years, hung out and had dinner.
“He’s a great guy, smiles, not afraid to speak to you. So I’m excited to have him around,” Hunter added.
Abreu is excited to be around.
“These guys are making me feel part of the team already. They’ve given me a nice welcome and now I’m beginning to make friends,” Abreu said. “These guys have a lot of fun.”
And having the ebullient Hunter as a teammate?
“He talks a lot,” Abreu said with a grin. “He makes you laugh. A funny guy. Especially, too, he’s one of those outfielders who help you out.”
d Abreu hit .296 with 100 RBIs and 20 homers for the New York Yankees last season. He filed for free agency for the first time and was thought to be seeking a three-year deal. But with the economy apparently taking its toll on the free agent market, he was happy when he got a one-year, $5 million contract with the Angels that includes another possible $1 million in bonuses for plate appearances.
He insisted he’s not disappointed he didn’t get a longer contract.
“I’m with a good team, got a job,” Abreu said. “I’m not disappointed with one-year. I’m still young.”
A career .300 hitter with Houston, Philadelphia and the Yankees, Abreu helps fill the void of left-handed hitting in Los Angeles’ lineup left by the departure of left fielder Garret Anderson, who’s still on the market, and first baseman Mark Teixeira, who signed with the Yankees.
“He sort of came out of the blue,” Hunter said of Abreu. “Nobody expected us to sign Bobby or anybody out there because we’d been hearing about no more signings, which was cool because the lineup we had was awesome.
“Adding him just makes it that much better. I’m excited for another 100-win season, and hopefully we can go on and go to the World Series.”
Manager Mike Scioscia said Abreu’s a big plus.
him), I said maybe we’re not as deep this year. But we reacquired some depth with Bobby.
“He brings great offense to a lot of depth.”
Abreu has always played right field, but with Vladimir Guerrero in right and Hunter in center, he will start in left.
Talking about adjusting to the switch and the different angles he has to get used to, Abreu said, “I have to play a lot of games in left field in spring training so I’ll make my mistakes here and not in the season.”
Abreu, who had a career-high 40 steals for the Phillies in 2004, believes he’s well suited to Scioscia’s style of sending baserunners.
“The Angels know how to play the game, are very aggressive. I like that, of course,” said Abreu, who will bat second in the lineup, between leadoff man Chone Figgins and Guerrero.
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Posted: 2/20/09 12:10AM ET
