Miguel Cabrera joined an elite club on Saturday by collecting his 3,000th career hit in the Detroit Tigers’ win over the Colorado Rockies in the first game of their doubleheader at Comerica Park.
Cabrera has spent the past 15 seasons with the Tigers, where he’s won two American League MVP Awards, a Triple Crown, four batting titles and seven All-Star Game selections.
“Seeing Miguel grow from a teenager taking batting practice on neighborhood fields in Venezuela to becoming one of the best players in baseball history has been one of the great joys of my life,” Tigers executive vice president and general manager Al Avila said in a statement.
“His humility, passion for having fun and genuine love of the city of Detroit are completely unmatched and joining the 3,000 hit club only strengthens his standing as one of the game’s all-time greats. This is a tremendous accomplishment, and we know there are many more exciting times on the horizon.”
Cabrera’s accomplishment resonated with fellow Venezuelan Brusdar Graterol, according to Juan Toribio of MLB.com:
#Dodgers Brusdar Graterol said it was "incredible" and emotional to watch Miguel Cabrera get his 3,000th hit. A Cabrera Tigers jersey was the first baseball jersey he owned
"He's meant so much. He did everything he could do to make Venezuela proud and known all over the world."
— Juan Toribio (@juanctoribio) April 23, 2022
Cabrera now is among 33 players in MLB history with at least 3,000 career hits. However, he’s just one of seven to have 3,000 hits and a minimum of 500 home runs. That select group includes Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Eddie Murray, Rafael Palmeiro, Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez.
Albert Pujols, then with the Los Angeles Dodgers, congratulated Cabrera last season on reaching 500 career home runs.
Cabrera is the seventh player born outside of the continental United States to reach 3,000 hits. He’s accompanied by Adrián Beltré and Pujols (Dominican Republic), Ichiro Suzuki (Japan), Palmeiro (Cuba), Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rico) and Rod Carew (Panama).
Miguel Cabrera stats vs. Dodgers
Had the Tigers’ slugger gone into a slump, it was possible achieving the milestone was going to come at Dodger Stadium.
Instead, the Dodgers will face Cabrera and the Tigers one week removed from the feat. He’s hit a lifetime .284/.330/.556 with eight doubles, one triple, 12 home runs and 36 RBI in 44 games against L.A.
Included in that is batting .271/.342/.671 with four doubles, eight home runs and 17 RBI in 20 career games at Dodger Stadium. However, Cabrera went 1-for-8 with one walk in two games when the Tigers last played at Chavez Ravine during the 2014 season.
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