White Sox: Would Jose Abreu Make Hall of Fame With Full MLB Career?

Overall, Abreu does happen to match up with the Hall of Famers in these basic offensive stat categories. In comparing the closest players Abreu matched up with – Tony Perez, Jeff Bagwell, and Orlando Cepeda. A closer look is even more telling of Abreu’s talent.

According to Fangraphs:

• Perez: wRC+ 121, wOBA .356, WAR 58.9
• Bagwell: wRC+ 149, wOBA .405, WAR 80.2
• Cepeda: wRC+ 131, wOBA .370, WAR 50.3
• Abreu: wRC+ 139, wOBA .374, WAR 55-60
  • (wRC+ and wOBA are Abreu’s stats, WAR was calculated by15-year proj.)

Abreu would at least be in consideration if his career went the trajectory as planned above. But at the same time, there’s no doubt that Abreu’s time in Cuba helped shape him into the baseball player he is today. And the only thing Sox fans can do now is hope he signs an extension, and watch and enjoy one of the best first basemen in “Las Grandes Ligas.”

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Here are the revealed stats from above:

• .297 AVG, 2314 H, 449 HR, 1529 RBI, 1517 R – Jeff Bagwell
• .296 AVG, 2726 H, 419 HR, 1420 RBI, 1230 R – Jose Abreu
• .287 AVG, 3255 H, 504 HR, 1917 RBI, 1627 R – Eddie Murray
• .279 AVG, 2732 H, 379 HR, 1652 RBI, 1272 R – Tony Perez
• .297 AVG, 2351 H, 379 HR, 1365 RBI, 1131 R – Orlando Cepeda
• .270 AVG, 2211 H, 521 HR, 1555 RBI, 1229 R – Willie McCovey
• .256 AVG, 2086 H, 573 HR, 1584 RBI, 1283 R – Harmon Killebrew