The Enigmatic Legacy of Miguel Cabrera

A enigma is generally not seen as a laudatory term. Something that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand. However if you bear with me and hold on to the end. I think you will see where I am coming from in regards to the Tiger legend.

The shine from Miguel Cabrera’s emotional farewell game is still etched in the mind of many fans. I was surprised how emotional it was even for me. Plenty of talented writers have delivered think pieces on this outstanding career in the past week. However as I take a shot. My thoughts turned to a meaningless mid season game where I said my goodbye. The unique circumstances around the game provided a microcosm of the enigma that is Miguel Cabrera.

On Saturday July 22nd, the Detroit Tigers were soundly defeated by the San Diego Padres 14-3. In the time honored baseball tradition. I took my son to the game. He’s only 13, but loves numbers and history. Consequently he realizes the significance of Cabrera’s many accomplishments.

I should add, this was our third attempt at seeing Miggy in action. As any Tiger fan knows. His games played and effectiveness within them has taken a sharp nosedive in the last seven years. Even with his now pent up expectations. I warned him that the Cabrera he was going to see would be a shell of the legend.

Despite these factors. On a sweltering July Saturday night. Cabrera delivered a performance to remember. Not for its greatness. The performance was instead emblematic of the full Miguel Cabrera experience. It will hopefully make sense as I take you through it step by step.

The Hit

In the bottom of second inning while batting seventh. Miguel Cabrera stepped to plate and did what he simply was put on this Earth to do— hit the baseball. I’m convinced when he came out the womb and the doctor smacked him. He smacked back. I can imagine when he stepped up for his first tee ball appearance. As the eager parents yelled to “just hit the ball”. He probably stepped back and asked if they meant “to right, center, or left”? He is a natural born professional hitter.

There was nothing special about the knock. Just a simple single that advanced Zach McKinstry to third. Something he literally has done over 3,000 times. Of those hits, 511 of them have gone over the fence. One of seven players in this exclusive 3,000 hit 500 homer club. Within this elite grouping. Only three have accomplished the feat with a career batting average over .300. You might have heard of the other two, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays.

The numbers are staggering. As are the anecdotes. How about hitting a walk off home in his major league debut. That’s a nice way to start things off. I’ll always remember his homer in the World Series after getting brushed off the plate by Roger Clemens—he was 20 years old. He once earned an RBI against the Baltimore Orioles on an intentional walk. This wasn’t the Barry Bonds treatment. Cabrera simply extended his bat and poked one of the errant free passes into the outfield.

His batting practice sessions were legendary. Not only for the prodigious power. But for his ability to seemingly call both his own shot and location. You can parse the other portions of his game. But you can’t deny that Miguel Cabrera was a hitting savant. I did not have to worry about that on this July Saturday night. About the rest of the game….

The “Run”

I wasn’t sure what to call the next chapter of our night. I settled on the simple explanation of what I saw. Jake Rogers followed Cabrera’s hit by smacking a double into the alley. It would have been an easy for the 40 year old superstar in his 21st season to coast around the bases. He did not. It was the furthest thing from pretty. Lumbering might be too kind of an adjective. Probably 97% of non catchers would score on that play.

Cabrera did not score. However he gave it everything he had. That is another admirable aspect of the Cabrera career. You never got the sense that he was short changing the fans or the organization. He was seemingly beloved in the locker room. The cliche “father of time is undefeated” is overused and frankly not appropriate in this situation.

Father Time didn’t defeat Miguel Cabrera. It opened up a can on him in the last seven years. However defeat implies resignation. Cabrera kept coming back for more. That is part of his allure and connection with the fan base. Most can relate to battling our failing bodies as we approach our forties.

The “Rest”

As you will see the “rest” has multiple meanings within this section. Here is where the enigma lies. Our conquering hero should have stood proudly on third base. Enjoying the cheers as the fruits of his labor. He should have scored on the next at bat and received an even louder ovation. Cue the ominous 30 for 30 voice. What if I told that happened- but it wasn’t that simple?

Cabrera eventually strolled across the plate after a Zack Short single. Not as you would think though. It was to a smattering of light applause from a sparse crowd still finding their seats. How is that possible? This series of events was interrupted by an hour long rain delay. Unfortunately I think that also encapsulates the downside of the Miguel Cabrera experience. In his time with the Tigers. It seemed it was always “something” that kept him reaching the true lofty status that his statistical profile demanded.

Like the rain delay, often this “something” was out of his control. He had no role in a perennially leaky Tigers bullpen. He didn’t injure Prince Fielder or Victor Martinez. That being said, those singular moments I mentioned earlier. They happened as a member of the Florida Marlins. It is tough to pinpoint a signature Miguel Cabrera “moment” with the Tigers. Unfortunately, partially due his robotic greatness. Like that run scored on that Saturday night. Many of his accomplishments seemed oddly anticlimactic.

The Legacy

So what are we left with? If you don’t like the “enigma”analogy. I’ll go with Cabrera as a— comet. A galactic presence burning extremely bright and dangerously in the sky. Breathtaking in power, but fleeting in presence. Unlike a conventional star. A comet isn’t stationary. You can’t admire it for too long. It eventually leaves the view of your telescope.

Why does that astronomical analogy apply to Cabrera? I’m not entirely sure. That dichotomy is why I settled on the enigmatic label. It felt like there was something unknown about him. One can always lazily blame a language barrier. However as recent superstars have shown. That can’t be the sole reason.

There were definitely some issues off the field. That being said, he seemingly worked through those. If in a Brett Favre fashion. Those struggles would have been played out in a more public nature. Perhaps he would be even more beloved. That being said, as I write that statement. It feels wrong on many fronts.

First and foremost, what he does in his private life is his purview alone. Secondly how can you say Miggy wasn’t beloved. As Sunday’s game showed. He has a connection with this fan base and city that is deep and will not be forgotten. His place in the Tiger pantheon is more than secure.

Within this placement though, is where the enigma can be found. Sunday brought conversations about the Mount Rushmore of Tiger legends. Names like Cobb, Kaline, and others were thrown around. Despite my age, as a former history teacher. I understand the importance of those players in Tiger lore.

That being said, direct your eyes back up middle of this piece. I gave you a scintilla of Cabrera’s statistical resume. The rest would not fit on this page. The closest historical comps once again are players like Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. Documentaries get made about players in this stratosphere. Miguel Cabrera simply doesn’t just belong on the Tiger’s Mount Rushmore. He is the mountain.

The fact that he is seemingly not seen this way is in essence the “enigma”. You can’t say he is not a champion. Although that trophy appears so distant. He was rookie when he accomplished that feat. You can’t say he wasn’t beloved by his teammates and fans. Sunday disproved that.

Perhaps it is as simple as the difficulty of the slow seven year burn that was the tail end of his career. Perhaps if there was an image of a champagne soaked Miggy with a trophy going down Woodward Avenue. Things might feel different. As is the case with enigmas. We will never fully get the answers to those questions.

I will choose to focus on what I know. The greatest player Venezuela’s storied baseball history gave everything he had to the Tigers. Furthermore one of the greatest right hand hitters in baseball history gave everything he had to the Tigers.

Sunday was fitting send off for a legend. As the game wore on though. It felt like my thesis statement was being proven true once again. Why couldn’t he just take off the sunglasses and show the fans his tears in the beginning? Why couldn’t he just get that dramatic final hit? As he strode off the field after the bottom of the 7th. I was once again mildly disappointed. He had walked in his final plate appearance. Then meekly been forced out at second. Not exactly a Hollywood ending.

One last usage of the term. The nice thing about an enigma is you never know what you are going to get. To the surprise of seemingly everyone. The legendary hitter wanted to go out playing in the field. Cabrera grabbed his often maligned glove. He had not played in the field in two years. You already know how it ended. A slick unassisted put out followed by emotionally leaving the field one last time with his family.

To the end you did not know what you were going to get from Miguel Cabrera. After years of nearly unmatched excellence. The greatest Tiger ever had one more trick up his sleeve.