The wait is finally over for Miguel Cabrera and fans of the Detroit Tigers, as the veteran picked up his 3000th hit on Saturday afternoon against the Colorado Rockies. The hit came against fellow Venezuelan Antonio Senzatela.
“I think I’m still dreaming,” Cabrera told members of the media following Saturday’s contest, via TSN. “To be able to see 3,000 up there, pretty special. When I saw the second baseman almost behind second base, I was like, ‘OK, you’ve got to shoot the ball that way.”
Making the moment even more special is the fact that the first baseman accomplished the feat in front of his home fans at Detroit’s Comerica Park.
“I was like, ‘Get it done today,’” Cabrera said, before adding: “I’m happy I hit it here. I’m happy for the people of Detroit to see it.”
The 39-year-old originally began his career with the Florida Marlins, making his debut at the age of 20 on June 20, 2003. He went on to help the club win their first World Series championship in his rookie season before he was ultimately traded to the Detroit Tigers along with starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis for a package of players prior to the start of the 2008 campaign. He has been with the Tigers ever since, being named the American League Most Valuable Player twice and winning the Hank Aaron award twice for being the best hitter across both leagues.
“We just don’t know if we’re going to see another one in our baseball lifetime or our whole lifetime,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch commented. “It’s a small juncture of his Hall of Fame career. The next thing will be when he gets inducted a few years from now.”
There had been plenty of talk and speculation as to when Cabrera would reach the milestone and now that he finally has, the pressure to perform every game will certainly be much less intense for the veteran.
“I couldn’t imagine the pressure he was under to try to get a hit,” Tigers outfielder Robbie Grossman said of Cabrera. “I’m just so happy for him, his family, and the country of Venezuela. It means so much more than just to us (his teammates).”
Cabrera is one of the most respected players in the game and that was made abundantly clear following Saturday’s accomplishment, with players across Major League Baseball taking to social media to congratulate him. The likes of Joey Votto, Marcus Stroman, Kevin Pillar, Mike Trout, Brent Suter, and Robinson Chirinos, and a plethora of others sent their well wishes to the superstar.
“There are some who are great once. There are others who can be great once in a while. And then there are those who are great for a long time. They’re the greatest. Congrats, Miggy.” Jeff Daniels tweeted.
Cabrera and his teammates will now turn their attention back to trying to get into the playoffs for the first time since 2014. They haven’t gotten off to a great start though, sitting with a 6-9 record after their first 15 games of the season.
