• Bobby grew up near Maracay, a town located two hours from the Venezuelan capital of Caracas. The rain forest flourishes there, with white-face monkeys, tapirs, and anteaters.

• When Abreu first reported to the Houston Astros' academy there in the late 1980s, he was 14 years old, weighed 127 pounds and liked to hack as much as Guerrero.
  
  "Every young Latin player is a free swinger," said Andres Reiner, who ran the academy. "Bobby was no different."
  
  Abreu remembers the day he started to refine his game: May 1, 1997, Astros versus Expos at Olympic Stadium, and Craig Biggio led off the fourth inning with a double off Pedro Martinez. Abreu, batting second, followed with a fly ball to left on a 1-and-2 count. After the inning, Biggio approached Abreu—then in his first full season in the bigs—and told him that he should have been more selective, at least hit a ground ball to the right side.
  
  "Since then," Abreu says, "it's been automatic." (Lee Jenkins-Sports Illustrated-October 19, 2009)

Bowa cited Abreu's maturation, and his ability to not take bad at-bats into right field with him, which sometimes cost him.

• Abreu is pronounced Ah-BRAY-oo.
• He is one of the most patient hitters in the game, rarely swinging at any pitch not in the strike zone.
  
  He sees a lot of pitches per at-bat, more than most anyone in the game. He really does draw walks! A pitcher can make a lot of good pitches on Bobby, yet he will still walk.
  
  Bobby Abreu gives you a great at-bat (almost) every time he comes to the plate.

• When he was growing up in Venezuela, Bobby didn't idolize Tony Armas or Andres Galarraga. His biggest hero was Roberto Alomar, another fellow-countryman. And he idolized him to the point he copied his stance, lefthanded stroke, the way Robbie paws the dirt, and every single other idiosyncrasy in the batter's box.

• Abreu had some problems on defense when he played at old Veteran's Stadium in Philadelphia. But at the new Citizens Bank Park, with its swirling winds that turn fly balls into adventures, Abreu's defense became an asset.

Abreu credits grass/natural surfaces for keeping his knees and back in better condition—which allows him to take more chances, including tracking balls to the fence.

"I can go to the fence with no problem because I'm seeing the ball better and have a better feel for where the ball is going to be," he said.

• He used to play shortstop. But his hands are too stiff and his throwing motion too long for the infield.

• Bobby's one of the game's better baserunners. He's good for 20-30 stolen bases a year. (Editor's note: He has had 20+ steals every year from 1999–2010. And in 2010, he was 36 years old.)
• Once he gets rolling, he is an excellent runner. And he can really turn on the speed between first and third base. No one is better at going from home to third base.

• The Phillies coaching staff says Abreu has an innate gift for running the bases, rarely losing stride when he touches the bags. 

• May 1994: Abreu suffered a slight rotator-cuff tear that kept him in a DH role while he recovered. He started playing some outfield again in July.
• May-July 1, 1997: Abreu went on the D.L. with a fracture to the hook of the hamate bone in his right wrist. Surgery was required.

• October 1999: Bobby had arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow. He had suffered with pain during almost the entire season, and had loose bodies removed.

• February 2002: He had an emergency appendectomy while on vacation in Caracas in his native Venezuela.

• February 26-March 19, 2007: Abreu missed about three weeks of spring training exhibition games with a strained right oblique. He suffered the injury during batting practice.