DETROIT — Miguel Cabrera became the 33rd member of Major League Baseball’s 3,000-hit club on Saturday, churning out a single to right field off Rockies righty Antonio Senzatela.
The career feat follows Cabrera’s 500th home run last Aug. 22 at Toronto. Cabrera becomes just the seventh player in MLB history to reach both milestones. This time, he was able to celebrate at home in front of Tigers fans.
While the 3,000-hit chase was a repeat in some ways, it also felt different. This was more of a recognition of Cabrera’s ability as a pure hitter. While Cabrera’s path to stardom included a walk-off home run for his first Major League hit, he has taken great pride in winning four batting titles in a five-year span, including his 2012 title as part of his American League Triple Crown season.
Cabrera’s pure hitting skill includes his trademark ability to hit to the opposite field, a skill and philosophy he has passed along to current and former teammates.
Cabrera churned out at least 180 hits in 11 of 12 seasons from 2005-16, the lone exception being an injury-shortened ‘15 campaign in which he still won a batting title. When Cabrera recorded his 2,500th hit late in the ‘16 season, he was the eighth player to reach the total by the end of his age-33 season, and the youngest to do so since Hank Aaron.
“It’s incredible when you look at it,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said earlier this week, “and I think as coaches and me as a manager, the older that we all are, the more that we can appreciate things that happened a while back. Just trying to get these players to understand the names that are up on the board that he’s passing, the rarity of what you’re actually seeing in the flesh, watching him handle it with such joy.
“There’s so many lessons to take away from it, but just soaking it up and enjoying every minute of it. These players, Miggy might be the first Hall of Famer they’ve ever played with. You can put it in that perspective. It’s pretty amazing that we get to be a part of it.”
The intersection of Cabrera’s career feat with a roster that has grown young around him has added to that effect. Cabrera’s Tigers teammates gave him an emotional tribute in the clubhouse after he reached 500 home runs. His 3,000th-hit celebration included rookie first baseman Spencer Torkelson, who was just 3 years old when Cabrera had his first big-league hit.
“He became a Hall of Famer by staying inside the baseball,” Torkelson said earlier this week. “It sounds simple, but that’s what he’s done. He’ll take that single the other way, or that double in the right-center-field gap to stay on pitches. It’s definitely what I’d like to do. The commitment to his approach is second to none. …
“I’m really happy for him. He deserves it all.”
“Even though we play for different teams, he’s still from Venezuela,” longtime division rival and good friend Salvador Perez said last week. “I feel happy for him, happy for my country. I always say that Miggy represents every Venezuelan player in the big leagues. I know we play against each other a lot, and I want to win, he wants to win. But besides that, we’re from the same country, so it makes me feel proud that a guy from Venezuela is doing what he’s doing right now.”