The Los Angeles Dodgers began their series against the Detroit Tigers by recognizing Miguel Cabrera on the field during a pregame ceremony.
Cabrera is retiring after the 2023 season, which is the 21st of his career and 16th with the Tigers.
Brusdar Graterol, J.D. Martinez, David Peralta and Miguel Rojas represented the Dodgers in presenting a Hollywood Star to Cabrera and donation for his Miggy Foundation. He established it in 2007 to offer hope and help young athletes fulfill their dreams along with providing support to various communities.
“It was pretty special. Especially being a Venezuelan baseball player and knowing what Miguel Cabrera accomplished, the way he started his career really young and being 40 years old, to accomplish what he did throughout his career, he deserved that,” Rojas said.
“He’s been one of the best hitters in our generation and he’s going to forever be remembered as one of the best hitters to ever play this game. I’m really happy Miggy is getting recognized by everybody. He deserves it. I’m so happy and proud to be Venezuelan, because I know he’s going into the Hall of Fame. And I’m happy to say Miguel Cabrera is my friend.”
The Dodgers celebrated Albert Pujols in similar fashion during his final visit to Dodger Stadium last year. And like in that instance, manager Dave Roberts was more than happy to see the future Hall of Famer celebrated.
“That’s the way it should be. This guy has made his mark on the game. I played against him as a young player, he’s a world champion, he’s a great teammate and he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer,” Roberts said.
“It was a nice nod to him to have his countrymen and former teammate, J.D. Martinez, present him with the Los Angeles Dodgers star.”
Cabrera started in the first two games of the series and went a combined 1-for-7 with one run scored.
Miguel Cabrera autographed jersey
When the Tigers and Dodgers played at Dodger Stadium last season, Cabrera autographed a jersey for Graterol, a fellow Venezuelan native.
Graterol was among those to express his admiration for Cabrera when he reached 3,000 career hits.
Cabrera is among 33 players in MLB history with at least 3,000 hits. However, he’s just one of seven to have 3,000 hits and a minimum of 500 home runs. That select group also includes Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Eddie Murray, Rafael Palmeiro, Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez.
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