Monday, August 18

CINCINNATI -- When Reds starting pitcher Andrew Abbott walked the red carpet in Atlanta last month ahead of his first All-Star Game, he showed off a tribute inside his custom-made suit jacket.

The jacket lining consisted of about a dozen photos, mostly of Abbott's family, plus his dog and a picture of him next to teammate Elly De La Cruz at the 2022 All-Star Futures Game. It was all meant to honor people in his life who helped him along the journey to become an All-Star.

There was also one special photo included in the suit that was neither family nor teammate. It was of newly minted Hall of Fame reliever Billy Wagner. The former Astros and Mets star was Abbott's travel ball coach and mentor when he was a teenager in Virginia. 

“In the moment when you’re going through it, you don’t know the impact," Abbott said. "When I was 14, as I knew him, I didn’t know how big that was going to be. But sitting back now and looking at it and being mature enough to realize and understand -- it was great.”

Currently having the best season of his three-year big league career, Abbott enters his start on Sunday vs. the Brewers 8-3 with a 2.41 ERA in 21 games and has become worthy of ace status in Cincinnati's rotation. Over 123 innings, the left-hander has 35 walks and 105 strikeouts. 

Like Abbott, Wagner pitched left-handed and hails from Virginia, and he still lives there in retirement while working with young pitchers. He had Abbott on one of his teams for almost two years over a decade ago.

What Abbott learned most from Wagner as a teenage pitcher was not about pitch grips, repertoire or performance, but how to handle the mental side of the game and emotional toll it can take when everything doesn't go according to plan.

"That’s where I really struggled," Abbott said. "I’d always been able to spin it and kind of maneuver the ball around. I didn’t throw hard, per se, but I throw harder now, hopefully. [Wagner] did play a part in when to use it, the sequencing, the strategy behind the game. I think he was more instrumental in that. But mentally was the biggest gap -- success and failure -- I couldn’t really handle that at that time. I’d ride a high, but then it’d be a super low with failure. He was able to kind of bridge that gap.”

Over a 16-year career from 1995-2010, Wagner had a 2.31 ERA, and his 422 saves are currently ranked eighth all-time. Certainly as a closer, he had a lot of success. But it was his experience with failure that he imparted on Abbott.

Explained Abbott: “He’s a future Hall of Famer at the time telling you, ‘You’re going to fail more than you will succeed. It’s going to be rough. You’re going to have good games. You’re going to have bad games. You’re going to have terrible games. Just stay even keel. Stay true to who you are. Never forget who you were before the game has impacted you in such a way.’ He really just kind of set the groundwork.”

Sure enough, since debuting with the Reds in 2023, the 26-year-old Abbott often has a consistent persona both on and off the mound. After a successful time in travel ball and high school, Abbott was a 36th-round pick of the Yankees in 2017 out of Halifax County High School in Virginia. He went to the University of Virginia before the Reds made him their second-round selection in 2021.

Throughout his career, including in the big leagues, Abbott has stayed in touch with Wagner -- most often via text messages. 

"‘You’re pitching well. Keep riding the wave. Keep having good games and keep stacking them the best you can,'" one Wagner text to Abbott said. "I’m eternally grateful that he’s willing to do that, because I know he doesn’t have to.”

When Abbott went to the All-Star Game, he received another text from Wagner.

"Congrats. I’m super happy for you," it said. 

Abbott pitched a 1-2-3 top of the sixth inning for the National League squad in the All-Star Game. Another text arrived the next morning. 

"It was like, 'Great watching you last night. Continued success,'" Wagner wrote.

Abbott texted back, "'Can’t wait to see you get enshrined. I hope your family’s great.''

During the offseason, Abbott makes his home in the Dallas area, but when visiting family and friends in Virginia, he often contacts Wagner.

"I’m just grateful to have the opportunity to send him a message and get an answer, or see him in the offseason when I go back to UVA, because he still lives around Charlottesville," Abbott said. "Just to have that is a nice feeling for sure.”

Last season, De La Cruz led the Majors with 67 steals, but he will finish far below that number when the 2025 season ends. In 2024, there seemed to be no situation where he wouldn't try to steal or take an extra base. 

Entering Sunday, De La Cruz was tied for fifth in baseball with 31 steals this season. That includes only two attempts in August -- both successful -- and six steals since the All-Star break. One reason he has been more selective is physical. Earlier this season, the 23-year-old played through a sore hamstring. Lately, it's been a balky left quadriceps muscle.

“He’s had to manage that quad for a while, and I think he has managed it well," manager Terry Francona said. "I think he’s coming through the other side of it. His speed is up. It’s not quite where it would be, but he is on this trajectory. I think he’s done a good job of managing it.”

De La Cruz can still summon speed when needed. He was trucking Wednesday as he scored from first base on Austin Hays' sixth-inning double and hustled for an infield single in the seventh inning vs. the Phillies in an 8-0 win. He also often runs hard into the outfield from shortstop to attempt catches. 

“It’s hard to put a governor on," Francona said.

Perhaps the lack of leg power is behind a lack of bat power too. De La Cruz has one home run since June 23 -- on July 31 vs. the Braves. But overall this season, his average is up from last season (.259 to .276) and his OPS is nearly the same (.809). His strikeout rate is also down (31.3 percent to 25.2 percent).

And through it all, De La Cruz has not missed a game this season while playing in all 124.

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