Hit. Single. Squibber. Blooper. Line drive. Bouncer. Whatever you call it, Detroit Tigers’ designated hitter Miguel Cabrera has 3,002 of them (at time of writing). Some of them were home runs, doubles, and I’m sure a few were even triples. In fact, Cabrera’s first hit was actually a home run, as were his 1,000th and 2,000th hits. Three thousand was a slap shot through the infield into right field. Not even Cabrera can hit it out of the park every time.
I’ve been watching Miguel Cabrera play baseball since 2003. It’s surreal that I saw his journey begin 19 years ago, and while not over now, 2022 is certainly the twilight of his career. Cabrera started with the then Florida Marlins, and I was living in Orlando at the time. I watched the Marlins advance to the World Series that year, and saw Cabrera and his teammates defeat the New York Yankees to win it all. (A lifelong Cleveland baseball fan, I will nonetheless cheer for any team playing against the Yankees.)
I almost saw Miguel Cabrera hit his 500th home run. Ever since I was young, I’ve wanted to visit all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums, and number 10 on my list was Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers. Last year Cabrera was chasing another milestone: 500 home runs. Alas, he didn’t hit one while I was there, needing a few more games to get to the momentous number, though like his 3,000th hit, I saw the game on TV.
Ever since this afternoon’s famous hit, I’ve been thinking about other milestones I’ve witnessed in baseball. First to come to mind is Cal Ripken Jr’s breaking of Lou Gerig’s consecutive game streak in 1995. Gerig played for 2,130 straight games. Ripken would play for another 502 games to set the record at 2,632, finally ending the streak in 1998. I was eight years old when I watched Ripken on that first historic night.
Roger Maris, back in 1961, set the home run record for most home runs in a single season at 61. That record would stand until 1998, truly an historic year in baseball, when Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire would simultaneously chase Maris’ record. I remember watching highlight after highlight of home run after home run as those two power hitters traded the most home runs that year. McGwire would come out on top with 70, a record that would stand until Barry Bonds hit 73 three years later in 2001. Sosa, McGwire, and Bonds have all been plagued by allegations of steroid or other PED use that sullies their achievements, but as a kid in the 90’s nothing was more exciting than watching all those home runs fly out of the ball park.
Mariano Rivera is one of the greatest closing pitchers of all time, and currently holds the record for saves at 652, set in 2013. I remember Rivera not just saving baseball games, but completely shutting them down. Whenever he came out of the bullpen, to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”, you just knew the game was over for the opposing team, and it very often was.
As I’ve grown up watching baseball, and continued to watch it every year, I’ve seen many amazing plays, records, and incredible feats on the diamond. Along the way, I’ve grown up and have been making a life for myself. It was always my dream to play professional baseball, and while that dream never materialized, I remain a lifelong lover of the game. It’s surreal to me that I’ve seen so many great, now Hall of Fame, players, and Miguel Cabrera is one who I’ve been privileged to see for his entire career so far. There have been others, of course, having watched baseball for close to 35 years, but Cabrera stands out among them. Congratulations to him on 3,002 hits and as many more as he can collect before he retires to well deserved accolades and eventually the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.
a simple man 