Miguel Cabrera had a little pep in his step as he rounded the bases after hitting his 500th home run. He skipped over first and flexed his arms in celebration when the ball cleared the fence, then ran his way toward home like the kid who hit a walk-off homer in his MLB debut. Asked what was going through his mind, Cabrera told MLB Network Wednesday, "I was feeling light, like I lost 20 pounds." Then he belly-laughed, because he's still a kid at heart.
Later that night, Cabrera must have been reflecting on his career. When the attention subsided and he found some time for himself, he must have been taking a moment to appreciate the journey. He must have been thinking about all he's accomplished since breaking into the big leagues with the Marlins in 2003, the four batting titles, the two MVP awards, the Triple Crown.
Right?
"'I need 3,000 hits,' is what I think," Cabrera said with a grin. "500, to me, is really nice to be in that club, but to be in the club of 3,000 hits is one of my goals in my career."
Cabrera is one of 28 players in MLB history to reach 500 homers. Later this season or early next season, he's poised to become one of 33 players to reach 3,000 hits. (It's a matter of when, not if. Cabrera is signed through 2023.) And then he'll be one of only seven players to do both, joining ... Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Eddie Murray, Rafael Palmeiro, Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols.
"It’s going to be an honor, man. The names you just said are some of the best players in baseball history," Cabrera said. "To be a part of that list, me and my family are going to be proud. We know we worked hard for this and I want to keep going. I want to do my job. I’m still healthy, and I think that’s the bottom line: be healthy and play a full season."
Cabrera is 43 hits shy of 3,000, with 34 games remaining this season for the Tigers. Assuming he plays in 30 of them and totals, say, 120 at-bats, he'd have to hit .358 the rest of the way to reach 3,000. (For reference, he's hitting .292 over his last 60 games.) And then he'd be in a club by himself as the only player ever to reach 500 homers and 3,000 hits in the same season -- one of his stated goals entering the year.
Unlikely? Sure. But Cabrera has the weight of 500 homers off his shoulders -- he slumped to .143 in the eight games between his 499th and 500th -- and this is a man of unlikely feats. His 2012 Triple Crown was the first since Carl Yastrzemski's in 1967. He led the AL in doubles in 2014 while playing the final month of the season on a broken foot. He'll need to turn back time to chase down 3,000, which he's already done once this season: 28 hits in 22 games in the month of June. September awaits.
However this year's chase shakes out, Cabrera is just happy to be playing competitive baseball again. The losing of the last four seasons wore on him, and this season started the same. The Tigers were 9-24 out of the gate. They're 52-42 since, tied for fifth in the AL. It puts another pep in the step of one of the greatest hitters of all time.
"The young talent we have, the young pitchers have been great this season," Cabrera said. "That’s why we’re in this position right now, fighting for second place in our division. That’s good for us, because it’s another step to get closer to compete next year for a playoff spot."