Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera made history in more ways than one this weekend. With an opposite field single against the Rockies Saturday, Cabrera joined the 3,000 hit club, becoming only the 33rd player in MLB history to do so.
Not only that, but the 39 year old also became only the 7th player in league history to rack up 3,000 hits while also having at least 500 career home runs as well. Cabrera joins Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Albert Pujols, Eddie Murray, Rafael Palmeiro, and Alex Rodriguez in the exclusive club.
The Venezuelan born star was greeted by his wife, children, and mother on the field shortly after notching his historic hit. His family, which had been onsite for the past few games, had to wait a bit longer than expected to celebrate the milestone.
Cabrerera went 0/3 on Thursday before being intentionally walked, much to the crowd’s chagrin, against the Yankees. And Friday’s series opener with Colorado was ultimately rained out, setting up a double header on Saturday.
But the wait was worth it, as the future Hall of Famer was able to accomplish the feat in front of a massive home crowd at Comerica Park. Cabrera was promptly serenaded by the near capacity crowd with chants of “Miggy! Miggy!” at the stadium he’s called home since 2008.
The accolade is yet another impressive accomplishment on the powerful righty’s eventual Cooperstown worthy baseball resume. Already an 11x All-Star, Cabrera is also a 2x AL MVP, 2012 Triple Crown winner, 7x Silver Slugger, 2x Hank Aaron award winner, 4x AL batting champion, 2x AL home run leader and 2x AL RBI leader.
The 20 year veteran joined the Tigers as a 24 year old following a 5 season stint with the Florida Marlins. At the time, Cabrera only had 842 career MLB hits, meaning most of his damage has been done in a Tigers uniform.
Detroit’s DH also added a two run single to finish the day 2/4 with 1 run scored and 2RBIs. Cabrera, who relinquished 1st base duties to super rookie Spencer Torkelson, has thrived in his designated hitter role this season, posting a .326 avg which is his highest since the 2015 campaign.
The Tigers wrap up their series with the Rockies Sunday at Comerica Park before hitting the road for a series against the Minnesota Twins.
Photo: Cbl62. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.