A beauty of baseball is its propensity to deliver classic moments when least expected.
Miguel Cabrera’s Opening Day home run was one of those instances.
A homer over the right field wall in a driving snow storm off Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber? Then add the slide into second base…
It will be remembered for decades.
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Nobody could have predicted such a scenario last summer when Miggy was flailing away hopelessly at 91 mph fastballs as the Tigers’ 60-game sprint slowed to a crawl.
Yet for all the angst about Miggy due to past off-the-field issues, the enormous size of his contract and fielding metrics that suggest he should be awarded the Tin Glove rather than a Gold one, he sure can hit.
We saw it late last season. Just when he appeared done like dinner, Miggy started cooking up offensive production again like an Iron Chef.
In 2020, Miggy had an average exit velocity of 93.2 mph. It was sixth in MLB. At 37, he was the only player in the Top 15 older than 30.
Only six players have 500 career home runs and 3,000 hits: Hank Aaron, Alex Rodriguez, Willie Mays, Rafael Palmeiro, Eddie Murray and Albert Pujols.
Both numbers are reachable this season for Cabrera.
Miggy’s brilliance as a hitter is beyond exceptional. It’s almost like there has never been another batter like him, at least in a reasonably comparable period.
Aaron, Mays, A-Rod and Mike Trout represent speed. Albert Pujols doesn’t, and has more impressive power numbers. However, Cabrera, despite being a plodding runner, is 34th overall in career OPS, ahead of even Pujols. He is a .313 lifetime hitter and his offensive WAR is 40th all-time, a spot above Al Kaline.
“I could never hit like that,” Kaline said when asked about Cabrera. “Not even close.’’
Truthfully, it’s been awhile since we’ve been able to enjoy the brilliance of Miggy, the hitter. Hopefully, this summer will be a celebration of it.
The baseball gods broke the mold after creating this guy.
Enjoy it. His proficiency at one of sport’s most highly-coveted skills is remarkable.