Miguel Cabrera's season began with a bang, a first at-bat homer in a snowstorm in Detroit. Then he went cold. So cold that he almost looked cooked. So cooked that it was almost time to punt on his pursuit of 3,000 hits and 500 homers in the same season.
The chase is back on.
Cabrera capped off a throwback month of June by going 6-12 with two homers this week against the Indians. Cleveland fans were taunting their longtime tormentor with chants of "Retire! Retire! Retire" on Monday, so Cabrera drove in the go-ahead run in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader and launched his 50th career homer against the Tribe in the second -- his most against any team.
His turnaround in the past month is quite remarkable. Cabrera was batting .184 with a .543 OPS and just seven multi-hit games at the end of May, hampered in part by a biceps injury in April. He hit .329 with an .850 OPS and 10 multi-hit games in June, his second highest average in a month over the past five seasons. This is more like the Miggy we remember.
"He's healthier and he's starting to lock in his timing and stay disciplined to his approach," A.J. Hinch said Wednesday. "Even a polished, veteran hitter like him needs a tweak every now and then. I think he's settled in nicely. Look, he knows what he's trying to do and when he executes that and gets rewarded for it with a few hits, the oppo homer today, like anybody that breeds confidence.
"I don't care how long you've been in this league. You need production in order to feel good about yourself."
If this production continues, Cabrera will be making history later this summer. He's 81 hits shy of 3,000 and six homers shy of 500 with 81 games to play. Only six players have done both; no one's ever done it in the same season.
Cabrera's easily on pace for 500 homers. Health willing, he'll get there sometime in August or early September. He's behind schedule for 3,000 hits, but that owes to his freezing first two months. Let's cross our fingers and say he's good for 75 more games and 300 more at-bats. He'll reach 3,000 hits by batting .280 the rest of the way.
Cabrera will never again be the Miggy we remember, not in full. He sacrificed his body for his prime. But he can still turn back the clock as he closes the gap in a race against time.
