Review: Bally’s Miguel Cabrera doc, despite a few omissions, hits the sweet spot

Miguel Cabrera’s Hall-of-Fame career, which includes 3,000 hits, 500 home runs, a Triple Crown and two MVPs, is quickly coming to an end.

Detroit — For 21 seasons, including 16 in Detroit, Miguel Cabrera mostly has let his generational talent do the talking. He’s done plenty of interviews, and he’s almost always nice, but he’s never been one to get too personal.

It’s that, and memories from so many former teammates, that makes Bally Sports Detroit’s upcoming documentary, “Miguel Cabrera: One of a Kind,” so enjoyable to watch.

Four Bally Sports Detroit producers, with help from the Tigers, spent more than a year putting together the Cabrera retrospective, which debuts after Tuesday night’s Tigers-Yankees game, in the twilight of Cabrera’s career. It’s an hour long, and could’ve been longer, a true sign of quality content.

“He put a lot of smiles on a lot of people’s faces, including mine,” said Jim Leyland, “believe it or not.”

“He’s gonna have a statue here for a reason,” Justin Verlander said.

“Every time he comes to the plate,” said Pudge Rodriguez, “damage is coming.”

The documentary of Cabrera, 40, hits on all the highlights of his life and career, from growing up in Maracay, Venezuela — known for “baseball players and bullfighters,” Ozzie Guillen said — to debuting with the then-Florida Marlins, with a walk-off home run in his first major-league game, from winning a World Series with the Marlins at 20, to being traded to the Tigers ahead of the 2008 season. He never won a World Series in Detroit, but he led the team to one in 2012, probably should’ve won one in 2013, and won two MVPs and a Triple Crown along the way.

The last generation of Tigers fans still talk about Al Kaline and Alan Trammell.

This generation of Tigers fans will long talk about Cabrera, who collected his 500th homer and 3,000th hit in Detroit.

Among the former Tigers teammates interviewed for the documentary were Verlander, Rodriguez, Victor Martinez, Max Scherzer, J.D. Martinez, Alex Avila, Craig Monroe, Nick Castellanos, Cameron Maybin, Dontrelle Willis (a teammate in both Florida and Detroit, and part of that blockbuster trade), Eugenio Suarez, Eduardo Rodriguez and Jonathan Schoop. Leyland, Cabrera’s manager from 2008-13, also took part, as did former Tigers executives Dave Dombrowski and Al Avila, who acquired him at the 2007 winter meetings in Nashville.

How the trade came together was among the most fascinating parts of the BSD documentary, with Dombrowski recalling a phone call from owner Mike Ilitch just before Thanksgiving. Ilitch asked about Cabrera, and Dombrowski said he was already at his budget. Ilitch responded, “You let me worry bout the budget,” and on the last day of the winter meetings, the Tigers had a deal — after a rumored deal with the Los Angeles Angels fell through. Cabrera and Willis came to Detroit for six prospects, led by Maybin and Andrew Miller.

“I didn’t realize that I would be famous,” said David Samson, the Marlins president who pulled the trigger on the deal, “for making the worst trade in the history of baseball.”

Said Maybin, who went the other way, but since returned for two stints with Detroit: “Dave Dombrowski, great job. You got that one right.” He added a big smile and a thumbs-up.

Guillen, manager of the rival White Sox, was asked his thoughts on the trade: “I hated it!”

The documentary touched lightly on Cabrera’s family, but did spotlight his mother, Gregoria, who was a star softball player for the Venezuelan national team, and who taught Cabrera his swing. (The swing, as the documentary points out, later was refined by Rodriguez. When they were both with the Marlins, Rodriguez saw Cabrera choking up on the bat, and insisted he stop; Cabrera did, and the rest is history.)

Marlins teammate Mike Lowell, as well as Adrian Gonzalez, Cabrera’s minor-league roommate, participated in the documentary. So did former Tiger TV man Rod Allen, now with the Marlins. Mario Impemba wasn’t included, but gotta be honest: it was nice to hear their voices together again, if only from the archives. Prince Fielder, a blockbuster teammate in Detroit, wasn’t interviewed either, but only because the logistics couldn’t be worked out. There also was no Magglio Ordonez or Carlos Guillen, fellow Venezuela natives.

The documentary also was exclusively positive, not touching on some past and public issues in his personal life. That wasn’t a surprise, given Bally Sports Detroit’s relationship with the Tigers, and the fact the Tigers were practically co-producers on the project.

The best part of the documentary was watching Cabrera watch a tablet of some past highlights, or interviews of former teammates. He smiled, a lot, just as he did on the baseball field, whether he was hitting home runs, or making a fan’s day, like that little boy in Cleveland, who razzed Cabrera, then got his bat and battling gloves.

“When I was a kid,” said Cabrera, “I would love for somebody to do that to me.”

Other participants included Dan Dickerson (his favorite moment: the epic home run against Mariano Rivera, who could only turn around and mouth, “wow”), and players like Jose Altuve and Elvis Andrus.

Willis was particularly engaging, reminiscing about how early in the 2003 season, he and Cabrera were in the minor-leagues, living off Waffle House. Months later, they were World Series champions. Years later, they were teammates again in Detroit, though Willis acknowledges he’s only a footnote in that deal. “He played awesome for them,” said Willis, “I played terrible for them.”

Cabrera is nearing one month left in his career, which he plans to follow-up by staying in baseball. He reiterated in the documentary he’d like to have a role with the Tigers moving forward.

In five years, he’ll be in the Baseball Hall of Fame, and eventually his No. 24 will joined the retired numbers on the walls at Comerica Park. He’s a top-three player in Tigers history (Kaline, Ty Cobb), if not No. 1, so a statue has to happen. That’ll last forever.

Of course, so will the memories. Bally Sports Detroit’s documentary, produced by Jeff Byle, Brady Clyma, Alex Assaf and Brian Henry, with help from Ben Fidelman and others from the Tigers, will help make sure of that.

“Unreal,” Victor Martinez said. “Don’t try to imitate Miggy. He’s one of a kind.”

Said Cabrera, summing up his career: “It’s a dream come true.”