MIAMI – Miguel Cabrera’s farewell tour has reached a special location.
The Detroit Tigers' slugger is approaching the last two months of his major league career. And in his final season, Cabrera has received numerous tributes in visiting stadiums.
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This weekend, the honors bring added significance.
The Tigers opened a three-game series Friday in Miami against the Marlins. The 40-year-old Cabrera is returning to the city where he spent his first five seasons and is facing the organization that signed him shortly after his 16th birthday.
“It is very emotional because this is where it all started,” Cabrera, a native of Venezuela, said before the Tigers lost to the Marlins 6-5 in Friday's series opener. “To be back here is awesome.”
The Marlins brought up the then-20-year-old Cabrera two months into the 2003 season. Cabrera made an immediate impact, hitting a walk-off home run to help the Marlins beat Tampa Bay in his major league debut.
“I remember it well because in all the stadiums I’ve visited, that is the first video presented,” said Cabrera, who went 0 for 3 and was hit by a pitch. “My teammates kid me because I was so skinny back then.”
It was a sign of things to come. Cabrera played a key role in the Marlins’ postseason run in 2003 that culminated with a World Series championship.
Cabrera was a four-time All-Star during his time with the Marlins. But the club, fearing it would lose Cabrera to free agency once he became eligible, dealt him to Detroit following the 2007 season.
“When I received that call, I had many questions on why I was being traded,” Cabrera said. “The club had a good young group and was growing tremendously. Had the group stayed together, we had a chance to contend for the division. They told me to be calm, that you’re going to a good club with a chance to win.”
Cabrera flourished in Detroit, becoming one of the game’s top hitters and a two-time AL MVP. In 2012, Cabrera won the AL Triple Crown, the first to accomplish the feat since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.
But the offensive production, which included four AL batting titles, declined as Cabrera reached his late 30s. Nonetheless, Cabrera reached the career 3,000-hit and 500-homer milestones over the last two seasons.
Now limited to a parttime role, Cabrera will play the three games against Miami. The second game on Saturday also will be promoted as Venezuelan Heritage Day.
“It is going to be great for me and my family,” Cabrera said of the ceremony,” Cabrera said. “You have to enjoy this moment, every second, every minute. After that, you prepare for the game and do your best to help our team win.”
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