Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers bats third in game one of the doubleheader against the Rockies. He comes up in the bottom of the first inning with a man on first and one out against Antonio Senzatela. On a 1-1 pitch, he grounds the ball through the right side past the second baseman for hit 3,000! Congratulations to one of the great hitters of the 21st century!
Update: There is a brief celebration on the field as his teammates congratulate Cabrera, and his family comes out to hug him as well.
Update: Cabrera is now a member of a very exclusive club, 3000 hits and 500 home runs. All of them also hit 500 doubles.
So, as a Tiger fan, I’d like to send thanks to the late Mike Illitch, the man responsible for Miggy being paid $30mil this year and next. When Illitch signed him to that long, expensive contract at age 32, everyone, including me, thought that was stupid. In hindsight, I’m glad he did it.
First off, it ain’t my money, so I don’t care if he’s overpaid.
Second, at the time, Illitch said he wanted Miggy to retire as a Tiger, go into the HOF as a Tiger. Not sure if it was the intent, but that contract made Miggy untradeable, so, unlike all of the other good and great players we had 10 years ago, Miggy didn’t get traded away for prospects as he aged. And, as opposed our other future HOF star Justin Verlander, Miggy will always be remembered as a Tiger. And, even through a miserable rebuild, at least we still get the occasional moments like today.
I suppose in the end, it is all about winning, but to me, it’s really not always. To me, baseball is at its best when you can watch players develop from young prospects to accomplished big-leaguers and you feel like you know them because they’ve been part of your daily summer life for so many years.
So, thanks to Mike and thanks to Miggy. I’m glad he’s still a Tiger.
Well said!
one interesting tidbit. Cabrera collected hit number 3,000 in the first game of the double-header.
In the nightcap, with Robbie Grossman and Austin Meadows getting a rest, and Javier Baez still out with an injury, the eight non-Cabrera batters in the Tigers starting lineup totaled 1,868 career hits.