Reduced to a designated hitter by his aching knees, Miguel Cabrera figured he'd never play first base again. He got rid of his glove this year in spring training. Suddenly, in the eighth inning of the final game of his career, he needed one again.
"When they asked me if I wanted to play first, I said I don’t have any glove. So I had to ask Tork, 'Hey, Tork, you got an extra glove?'" Cabrera said.
Specifically, Cabrera asked Spencer Torkelson if he had an extra that was broken-in. Torkelson didn't, so he gave Cabrera "my gamer," the glove he'd worn all season.
"And now the gamer is retired," Torkelson said.
It's a Wilson A2000 first baseman's mitt, black with gold trim. Cabrera put it on and immediately had a ball hit his way. Manning his old position for the first time in two years, he backhanded a grounder off the bat of Guardians infielder Steven Kwan and beat Kwan to the bag to the delight of a sold-out crowd at Comerica Park.
"Going back to first base for one out is another dream come true," Cabrera said.
"I've never had chills for that long," said Torkelson. "Just seeing the ball hit to him, all of us were in shock. The baseball gods are real. I believe in them even more."
Cabrera was removed from the game moments later for the send-off he deserved. He hugged each one of his teammates on his way off the field, and stopped when he reached Torkelson to return the glove.
"I told him I loved him," said Torkelson.
They were only teammates for two years, but Torkelson said Miggy "impacted my career probably more than he knows." When Torkelson was struggling his first season and a half in Detroit, Cabrera "would always tell me that he had confidence in me and to trust it, and that he’s seen a lot of baseball and he believes in me," he said.
"Just hearing that from him really helped me out. That’s something small, but that’s going to help a lot," Torkelson said.
That's an intangible gift, one that Torkelson will hold close to his heart forever. The tangible one is the glove, signed by Cabrera after the game. Along with his signature in gold ink, Miggy left some of his biggest achievements: Triple Crown 2012, AL MVP 2012-13, 12x All-Star, 4x batting champ, 3,000 hits, 5OO HR. Torkelson said the glove will be going in a frame in his man-cave.
"It’s your dream to be a Major Leaguer and then it’s your dream as a little kid to meet all the great players that you idolized growing up," Torkelson said. "And then just to be around him and see what it takes every day, it’s meant a lot to me and my career in such a short amount of time. It motivates you and it gives you the belief that it can be you one day, too."