Jose Abreu got off to a rough start for the Houston Astros in 2023, but things have turned around recently and he thinks he knows why.
Abreu joined the Astros in the offseason after nine years with the Chicago White Sox, but the former AL MVP got off to a very slow start. He did not hit his first home run for Houston until May 28, but has improved significantly in June, and he hit his fifth home run of the season Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Abreu had a funny explanation for the recent turnaround. The first baseman said he often talks to his bat and has done so in his entire career. A change in tactic was required, however, to get it going in 2023.
“I was talking to [my bats] in English, and they don’t understand English,” Abreu said through an interpreter, via Sarah Wexler of MLB.com.
Baseball players are very serious about how they treat their bats. If there is a language barrier, that would obviously be a problem, so it is good that Abreu course-corrected before it is too late.
June has been good to Abreu, as he hit .284 with four home runs since the start of the month. That is a lot more in line with what the Astros were expecting when they signed him in the offseason.
