Philadelphia Phillies: 50 greatest players of all-time

Mike Schmidt,Third and First Baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies prepares to bat the during the Major League Baseball National League East game against the Chicago Cubs on 28 June 1988 at Wrigley Field, Chicago, United States. Cubs won the game 6 - 4. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Allsport/Getty Images) /

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Bobby Abreu, Philadelphia Phillies. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

OF. 1996-06. Bobby Abreu . 12. player. 6.

Bobby Abreu‘s time as a Phillie may have come during a down period of Phillies baseball, but that shouldn’t discount his production during his tenure.

Abreu started his career rather unspectacularly with the Houston Astros before being selected by the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1997 Expansion Draft. His time in Tampa Bay didn’t even last a day, as he was traded to the Phillies for Kevin Stocker.

Abreu flourished immediately with the Phillies, posting a .906 OPS and 6.4 wins above replacement in 1998. He finished 23rd in MVP voting the year after with a .995 OPS, 20 home runs and a league-leading 11 triples.

Altogether, Abreu finished his Phillies career with a .928 OPS, 139 OPS+, 195 home runs, 814 runs batted in, 1,474 hits, 891 runs scored and 2,491 total bases. He earned All-Star honors in 2004 and 2005, winning the Home Run Derby in 2005.

Arbreu’s tenure as a Phillie came to an end with a trade to the New York Yankees in 2006, signifying a turning of the page to a new era of Philadelphia baseball. His professional career spanned all the way into 2014, spending spring training back with the Phillies before being released and then signed by the New York Mets.

Abreu will be eligible for Hall of Fame induction next year. Although it may not seem like it, he may just have a decent case for it.

While he ranks below the average Hall of Fame right fielder in JAWS, Abreu ranks just ahead of 2018 inductee Vladimir Guerrero. The two are very comparable in many career stats, giving Abreu a decent shot at induction. Besides, if Harold Baines made the cut for the Veterans Committee, then Abreu should as well.