GLENDALE, Arizona, USA (AP) The first thing Kendall Graveman did when he arrived at the Chicago White Sox camp this week was to apologize to José Abreu.
“I didn't want to hit him. I know Tony (La Russa) gave me some help in this,” Graveman said Wednesday.
It was the eighth inning of the fourth game of the American League divisional series. In that October match, Graveman was pitching for the Houston Astros, who had a 7-1 lead over the White Sox, and hit Abreu with a full score.
Eventually Houston won the series.
Abreu advanced to first base, without further incident, but La Russa, the manager of the White Sox, arrived from the cave and argued for several minutes with plate umpire Vic Carapazza, convinced that the ball had been intentional, either by Graveman's decision or on the orders of Houston manager Dusty Baker.
There were no expulsions.
“I apologized to Tony, told him I didn't want to. He replied, 'I realize that now, but at the time I didn't know it, '” said Graveman, who was relieved by the conversation with La Russa.
“It was a good way to cool this down.”
Now, both sides have joined forces. Graveman signed a three-year, $24 million contract with Chicago just before the lockout that broke out last fall. He enjoyed a great season in 2021, with a 1.77 ERA and 10 saves by the Astros and Seattle Mariners.
He was a starter in his first four seasons with Oakland, before undergoing Tommy John's surgery.
He is now considered a reliever, and joins an impressive bullpen, which includes closer Liam Hendricks, Craig Kimbrel, Jose Kelly and left-handers Aaron Bummer and Garret Crochet.
What was Abreu's reaction to Graveman's apology?
“He laughed,” said the pitcher. “He said, 'I knew you didn't want to do it. '”
It was not the only blow that Abreu suffered the previous season. He had to deal with constant minor injuries and a bulky collision against Ryan Dozier, from Kansas City, who sidelined him from a game.
Also, an umpire threw a bat that accidentally hit Abreu on the knee. And the Cuban aggressively threw himself to the plate in a wild pitch, which resulted in an ankle injury that cost him three engagements.
In the 2020 campaign, Abreu won the Most Valuable Player award, with a slugging of .617. Although he didn't shine as bright in 2021, he participated in 152 games, hit 30 home runs and produced 117 runs.
In five out of seven full seasons, he has reached at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs.
He was second in the league in pushes, with four fewer than the Venezuelan catcher of Los Reales, Salvador Pérez. He had led the Americana in that category in the previous two years.