The superstition between José Abreu and Sox hitting coach originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Superstitions are nothing new in baseball. But superstitions that hurt?
It turns out White Sox hitting coach Frank Menechino has been on the receiving end of good-luck blows the last year.
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It was all worth it, of course. He was doing it for the MVP.
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It seems José Abreu has taken to playfully attacking Menechino in an supernatural effort to keep the good times rolling at the plate. And boy, did it work in 2020.
"(Abreu), he's a great guy. He wears his emotions on his sleeve," Menechino said Wednesday. "It's a pretty funny story because last year, every time he would hit me in the back or hit me in the head or do something like that, he'd get a hit. So it became like a superstition.
"Sometimes he puts me in a bear hug. Sometimes he punches me in the back. So I have to hide from him sometimes."
And it's starting to work in 2021. That's more to say that Abreu's bat is starting to show some of the life that made it the American League's best a season ago.
The reigning MVP homered in Tuesday night's win over the division-rival Minnesota Twins, the deciding blow that broke a 3-all tie in the sixth inning.
Menechino got a big hug for that one, too.
But it's Abreu's oft-lauded hard work that is most to thank for him starting to snap out of his early season struggles.
Heading out on the White Sox recently wrapped five-game road trip through Cincinnati and Kansas City, Abreu was batting just .202, with a .675 OPS. But in his last six games, he's 8-for-22 with two home runs, three doubles, nine RBIs and six runs scored. It's been good for a 1.217 OPS, jacking his season number up to .775 coming into Wednesday's game.
Abreu was a model of hard work on a daily basis long before Menechino was a member of the White Sox organization. But the superstitious attacks aren't the only magic the hitting coach is making for the MVP.
"He's been working hard, and I've been on him hard," Menechino said. "I've been challenging him, and I've been getting on him a lot, too. 'Let's start getting out of this.'
"I'm hard on my guys, I really am. (Tuesday), he put a lot of work in. He did some work, and you finally see it come out in the game.
"He came up to me, and as much as we butt heads and as much as I get on him and stuff, he appreciates me being in his corner."
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