From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Reginald Damascus Abercrombie (born July 15, 1981 in Columbus, Georgia) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Houston Astros organization.

Professional career

Abercrombie graduated from Columbus High School. He was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 23rd round of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft, but chose to attend Lake City Community College in Florida during the 1999-2000 school year. After a strong spring training in 2006, in which he batted .358 with a .394 on-base percentage and a .627 slugging percentage, the Florida Marlins called him up to the big club.

His ascent to the Majors was somewhat surprising, considering he had only had brief stints above Single-A ball. Though once viewed as a marginal prospect, the Marlins had high hopes for him. In 2006, he joined a rookie cast that included Hanley Ramírez, Dan Uggla, Jeremy Hermida, Josh Johnson, Josh Willingham, Eric Reed, Mike Jacobs, and Scott Olsen, a group that overperformed considering the meager expectations. Abercrombie had some high points, but overall he didn't stick as a starter for the Marlins in 2006 and ended up with only 281 plate appearances, a batting average of .212, an on-base percentage of .271, and a slugging percentage of .333, all well below the league averages.

Though he never materialized into a consistent option for the Marlins, on April 19, 2006, while playing against the Cincinnati Reds in the Great American Ballpark, Abercrombie, facing pitcher Mike Gosling, hit a home run 486 feet, according to Hit Tracker Online's Standard Distance (considered "the best way of comparing home runs hit under a variety of different conditions" by the website). This home run was the furthest recorded distance of any home run since Hit Tracker has kept track of HR distances, until on September 27, 2008, Adam Dunn of the Arizona Diamondbacks hit a home run of Standard Distance 501 feet. ^[1].

In the 2007 season, Abercrombie saw less time in the majors and again slumped at the plate there, with a .197 batting average, .238 on-base percentage, and .316 slugging percentage in 80 plate appearances. He spent most of the season, however, with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes, where he hit very well, with a .323 batting average, .361 on-base percentage, and .584 slugging percentage in 379 plate appearances.

Houston Astros

On October 11, 2007, the Houston Astros claimed him off waivers from the Marlins. He was sent outright to the minors on March 28, 2008. On June 7, his contract was purchased from the minors, and was added to the active roster. He was designated for assignment on July 6. After being sent outright to the minors, he was recalled to the Astros on August 9. Although he only got 60 plate appearances in the major leagues, he had fairly good statistics in his time there, finishing the season with a .309 batting average and a .509 slugging percentage. On January 5, 2009, he re-signed with the Houston Astros.^[2]

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube