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White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu news and videos
Jose Abreu

Jose Abreu's son requests a home run for first White Sox game

Jose Abreu's son requests a home run for first White Sox game

MIAMI -- Jose Abreu’s son had a simple request of his father for Friday night’s game: Just hit me a home run.

No big deal.

In Miami since Sunday, Abreu’s son Dariel watched his dad play baseball for the first time on Friday night as the White Sox started a three-game series at the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park.

The 5-year-old is visiting the United States for the first time from Cuba until early September. Abreu said his son only asked for one favor on Friday — it just so happens to be a Ruthian request.

“The only thing he asked me is to just hit a homer,” Abreu said through an interpreter before he laughed. “That’s the only thing that he asked me.”

All Abreu desires for the next month is to spend as much time with his son as possible. Dariel will travel to Chicago next week when the White Sox return home from their current nine-game road trip. Abreu also will stay behind and spend his day off Monday in Miami before rejoining the team on Tuesday in Cleveland.

Even though the White Sox arrived in Miami around 3 a.m. EST on Friday morning, Abreu woke up early to be with his son. The two also spent all of Monday hanging out before Abreu traveled to Kansas City.

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The pair was previously reunited in December when Abreu traveled to Cuba as part of Major League Baseball tour. Before that, Abreu hadn’t seen his son since he left Cuba for the United States in August 2013. Earlier in the week, Abreu said the sacrifices he has made to achieve his dream of playing for an MLB team have been extremely difficult. That absence has made this visit even more special for Abreu.

“I like to have my family around and have my family united,” Abreu said. “My family is all I have and I’m glad to be with all of my family.

“To have my son here is very nice. Everybody knows how I am with my family. All of my family and I are very happy because we have him here. It was a special moment for us and we’re trying to take advantage of all the time that we can spend together.”

Abreu’s equally excited to play for the first time in Miami, which along with Chicago he describes as his second town. While nothing can ever match his home of 27 years that he has had to leave behind to play in the majors, Abreu, his wife and parents have come to call Miami their second home.

Even if he’s tired from all of the travel, Abreu expects to have plenty of inspiration to work off of on Friday. Whether or not it’ll be enough to match Babe Ruth, who once reportedly homered in Game 4 of the 1926 World Series after he told a sick child he would remains to be seen.

But if anyone can, it might be Abreu, who in 2014 was described by former teammate Adrian Nieto as “The Cuban Babe Ruth.”

“I’m very excited because the atmosphere here is to be something good,” Abreu said. “I’m going to try to treat that like extra motivation too. I’m going to try to perform the best I can.”

Tags: Chicago White Sox, Jose Abreu

White Sox slugger Jose Abreu reunited with son: 'I'm very happy'

White Sox slugger Jose Abreu reunited with son: 'I'm very happy'

KANSAS CITY -- Jose Abreu wore a look of exhaustion and elation as he walked through the visiting clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

He’d spent much of the previous 36 hours in transit, first from Chicago to Miami and then to Kansas City. He’d also barely slept at all on Monday night.

And yet, none of that matters.

Abreu spent all of Monday at home in Miami and in the pool with his 5-year-old son, Dariel, who arrived Sunday for a month-long visit from Cuba. It’s the first time since December Abreu has seen his son, whose face and birthdate are tattooed on his left arm, and also marks the first time his only child has ever been to the United States.

“I’m very happy,” Abreu said through team interpreter, Billy Russo. “I’m very happy to have my son with me here. I want to thank everybody who was involved in that process to help me and to help him to be with me right now. It was a long process, but finally we did it and we are together again.”

While Abreu has lived in the United States since late 2013, Dariel has continued to stay with his mother in Cuba. Though foreign relations have recently improved between the United States and Cuba, Abreu still isn’t allowed to freely travel back and forth between the two countries.

He was able to return to the island nation in December as part of a Major League Baseball goodwill tour at which time he reunited with his son. Until Sunday, Abreu hadn’t been able to bring his son to visit despite attempts for the past 2 1/2 seasons.

Now, however, the two can visit more often as Dariel received a travel visa that doesn’t expire for five years.

“Yesterday was a very special moment when I saw him and we were reunited at my house,” Abreu said. “It was a very special moment for me and for him too. I’m very, very happy right now.

“I couldn’t say anything. I just started crying. I couldn’t say anything to him in that moment.”

Abreu credited his agents for their role in arranging the trip. Though it was in the planning stages for some time, Abreu didn’t believe it would happen until he learned Dariel had arrived in Miami on Sunday. Manager Robin Ventura said Abreu’s excitement over seeing his son has been noticeable.

“You can tell he’s got a little bounce in his step,” Ventura said. “He has been dreaming for this a long time. You can just tell it has picked his spirits up as of late knowing this was going to happen. He’s happy.”

While Abreu rejoined the White Sox on Tuesday, Dariel stayed in Miami with his grandparents. Abreu said his mother, Daisys, is “the happiest person in the world.”

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The club travels to Miami and opens a three-game series against the Marlins on Friday night. Abreu plans to bring Dariel to the stadium with him, where he’ll see his father play live for the first time ever -- though Abreu insists that isn’t a big deal to Dariel.

“He wants to see me play, but he’s more excited to be with me,” Abreu said.

That included a family sleepover on Monday night. Abreu said he, his wife, Dariel and their two dogs all slept in bed on Monday, which meant no sleep for the slugger. But none of that matters right now.

“I couldn’t believe it until yesterday when I finally saw him,” Abreu said. “That was a very special moment. I’m very thankful to all the people who were involved in this.”

Tags: Chicago White Sox, Jose Abreu

Jose Abreu's son makes first visit to United States

Jose Abreu's son makes first visit to United States

His hands, selection and ability to hit his pitch have recently helped Jose Abreu flourish after the longest drought of his career.

Abreu homered for the third time in four games on Sunday afternoon as the White Sox lost to the Baltimore Orioles 10-2 at U.S. Cellular Field. Prior to Thursday, Abreu, who now has 14 round-trippers, hadn’t homered in 32 games.

But those quick hands and the ability to lay off bad pitches and select the good ones may not be the only factors driving the White Sox slugger. According to Comcast SportsNet’s Siera Santos, Abreu is headed home when the White Sox are off Monday to see his son Dariel, who is visiting from Cuba for a month, a source close to the first baseman said.

Abreu, who left Cuba nearly three years ago and was forced to leave his 6-year-old son behind, is expected to join the team on Tuesday in Kansas City when it begins a 10-day, nine-game road trip. The team travels from Kansas City to Miami after Thursday night’s series finale and opens a three-game series at the Marlins on Friday with a day off before they head to Cleveland.

Abreu went 3-for-4 in the team’s loss on Sunday, falling a triple shy of the cycle.

“It's always his hands working, but it's going to also be pitch selection and his aggressiveness,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “He just looks better. The way his bat's coming through the zone, it's a little quicker. Even though guys are going to continue to pitch him inside just like everybody else, he's able to get to get to it, he's able to still be on time, balance-wise, to be able to hit the outside pitch, too.”

Abreu traveled to Cuba last December as part of a Major League Baseball tour. During the trip, Abreu had the chance to see his son for the first time since he left for the United States.

Tags: Chicago White Sox, Jose Abreu