Andy Abad

From SoSH

Andy Abad was born Fausto Andres Abad on August 25, 1972 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Before being drafted, he graduated from Jupiter High School in Florida (Dante Bichette also attended Jupiter High), and then attended Middle Georgia College. Middle Georgia College has had alumni such as Kal Daniels, Jody Davis, Tom Dunbar, Shawn Hillegas, Mike Fitzgerald, Ray Stephens, Garey Ingram and Ernest Riles.

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Abad's Moment in the Sun 3 Awards 4 Trivia 5 Transactions 6 External Links

Overall Career

The left-handed hitting and throwing Abad was selected by the Boston Red Sox with the 443rd pick (Round 16) in the 1993 Amateur Draft and assigned to the GCL Red Sox where he hit only .248 and showed little power (.317 SLG).

He did pick it up the following year, hitting .288/.367/.362 while showing good plate discipline with 42 walks and 58 strikeouts at Single-A Sarasota. After starting 1995 at Sarasota, Abad was quickly promoted to Double-A Trenton. He returned to Sarasota to start 1996, but returned to finish the season at Trenton where he hit .277 with a .815 OPS.

Having split 1997 between Trenton and Triple-A Pawtucket, 1998 was Andy's coming out year. Starting the season at Pawtucket, he excelled, hitting .307 with 16 home runs, 18 doubles and 10 stolen bases -- showing potential as a five tool player.

Granted free agency in October 1999, Andy headed to Japan to play for the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes in 2000, before returning to the United States and signing a minor league deal with the Oakland Athletics in November 2000.

Andy made his major league debut in 2001, appearing in one game for Oakland, pinch-hitting for Jeremy Giambi and popping to third. He was granted free agency at the end of the season and signed with the Florida Marlins. In January 2003, he returned to Boston, spending the season at Pawtucket and earning a late season callup. In 9 September games with Boston, Andy notched 2 hits over 17 at-bats, including his first major league hit on September 17 at Fenway Park off Tampa Bay starter Victor Zambrano.

As a free agent, Abad signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates in December 2003 and spent all of 2004 at Triple-A Nashville, where he hit .292/.382/.468 with 12 home runs. Released by the Pirates at the end of the season, the Cleveland Indians signed him to a minor league deal and stashed him at Triple-A Buffalo where he hit a career high 20 home runs in 2005.

Abad finally made his first opening day roster in 2006 with the Cincinnati Reds, although his stay in the majors was brief. After appearing in five games for the Reds, Abad spent the rest of the year at Triple-A Louisville before filing for free agency on October 9, 2006.

On January 16, 2007, the Milwaukee Brewers signed Abad to a minor league contract and optioned him to Triple-A Nashville.

Abad's Moment in the Sun

• Hitting .529 during the 2001 PCL playoffs.

Awards

• 2003 International League All-Star (AAA)

Trivia

• Pitched in one game in 1996, two games 2002, and one game in 2005. In 5 2/3 innings, he's given up 3 runs, and has struck out two.
• Made his ML debut on September 10, 2001, one day before the terrorist attacks.
• Abad's father escaped Cuba during the Fidel Castro revolution.
• Was named co-MVP along with Ryan Garko while with Triple-A Buffalo in 2005.
• Lou Merloni has been a teammate of Abad longer that anybody else.

Transactions

• June 3, 1993: Drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 16th round of the 1993 amateur draft.
• October 15, 1999: Granted Free Agency.
• January 1, 2000: Signed as a Free Agent with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes (Japan).
• November 17, 2000: Signed as a Free Agent with the Oakland Athletics.
• October 15, 2001: Granted Free Agency.
• November 25, 2001: Signed as a Free Agent with the Florida Marlins.
• October 15, 2002: Granted Free Agency.
• January 3, 2003: Signed as a Free Agent with the Boston Red Sox.
• November 17, 2003: Released by the Boston Red Sox.
• December 26, 2003: Signed as a Free Agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• October 15, 2004: Granted Free Agency.
• November 15, 2004: Signed as a Free Agent with the Cleveland Indians to a minor league contract.
• December 19, 2005: Signed as a Free Agent with the Cincinnati Reds to a minor league contract.
• October 12, 2006: Elected to become a Free Agent from the Cincinnati Reds.
• January 16, 2007: Signed as a Free Agent with the Milwaukee Brewers to a minor league contract.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis