DETROIT — White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu isn’t a stats guy. He measures his success in a season based on what his mother thinks.
No seriously.
Abreu is in the midst of a career season. Earlier this month, he became the fourth player in Sox history to record 30-plus homers and 100 or more RBI in four seasons, joining the elite company of Frank Thomas, Paul Konerko and Magglio Ordonez.
Entering Friday’s game against the Tigers at Comerica Park, Abreu was hitting .280 with 33 home runs and a career-high 119 RBI.
Abreu, who is in a three-way tie for first in majors for RBI, is on pace for 127 RBI this season. Meaning, he could become the first Sox player since Dick Allen in 1972 to finish as the American League RBI leader.
Accomplishing that feat would be just another reminder for Abreu that his hard work is paying off. However, Abreu doesn’t monitor his stats. He leaves that up to his mother.
“What stat matters most? I would say all of them,” Abreu said through a translator. “But at the end of the season when I sit down with my mom and we talk about the season, if she’s happy with the numbers I put in every category then I’m happy too.”
His mother’s favorite stat?
“Games played,” he said with a laugh.
Abreu’s mother texts him daily. Sometimes, she showers him with praises, but more times than not, he said, she’s critical of his mistakes.
“Sometimes when she knows that I’m passing through a rough patch, she tries to not get too hard on me,” Abreu said. “But she figures out a way to let me know she’s not happy and the things I need to know.”
His mother has had little to be critical about this season. Abreu, 32, has continued to bolster his case for why the Sox should re-sign him after this season by being consistent at the plate. And as it’s already been well-documented, Abreu wants to stay with the Sox.
“The difference has been this year I’ve been hungrier, with more desire,” Abreu said. “Just playing hard. Trying to help the team win. Trying to do better every day.”
Zack Attack
Rookie Zack Collins is on a roll.
Collins hit an RBI double in the second inning Friday to give the Sox a 1-0 lead over the Tigers.
This comes after he finished the Sox-Twins series with a bang, hitting home runs in two consecutive games.
Before Wednesday, Collins was 5-for-31 (.161) with 13 strikeouts in 10 games since his September call-up.
Manager Rick Renteria likes what he’s seen.
“[He’s] being a little more aggressive in the zone,” Renteria said. “He’s holding his own here right now. ... There are things we’re still working on that have to improve, but all-in-all he doesn’t seem to be necessarily overwhelmed.”
Talk the talk
Asked who was the best trash talker on the Sox, Abreu pointed to the locker across from him where shortstop Tim Anderson was sitting.
“He’s funny,” Abreu said. “He’s a very good teammate and he’s one of those guys I’d like to have around me for a long time.”
