Miguel Cabrera

Cabrera hit a walk-off home run in his first major league game, against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, following Billy Parker in 1972 and Josh Bard in 2002 as the third player since 1900 to hit a game-winning home run in his big-league debut.

José Miguel Cabrera Torres (born April 18, 1983), nicknamed "Miggy", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins and Detroit Tigers.

At 16 years old, Cabrera was signed by Tigres de Aragua of the Venezuelan Winter League, where recorded his first hit as a professional in December 1999.

Cabrera was signed in 1999 as an amateur free agent by the Florida Marlins, and progressed through their minor league system. He made his MLB debut in mid-2003 at the age of 20, and contributed to the Marlins' World Series victory later that year.

Miguel was signed by the Marlins in 1999 as an amateur free agent and came up through their farm system, teaming with future major leaguers Adrián González and Dontrelle Willis.

He began his professional career in 2000 as a shortstop in the Gulf Coast League (GCL).

After batting .260 with 10 doubles, two triples, and two home runs through 57 games for the GCL Marlins, Cabrera was promoted to Class-A ball where he finished the final eight games batting .250 with 6 RBIs for the New York–Penn League (NYPL) Blue Sox in Utica, New York.

While playing that winter for the Tigres de Aragua in the Venezuelan Winter League, manager Bill Plummer moved Cabrera from shortstop to third base.

Heading into 2001, the Marlins bumped Cabrera up to the Low Class-A Kane County Cougars.

He earned his way into the Futures Game during All-Star Weekend in Seattle, along with González.

He ended the year batting .268 with 30 extra-base hits, 66 RBIs, and distinguished himself as having the strongest arm in the Midwest League.

Entering the following season, Cabrera was once again promoted, this time to the Jupiter Hammerheads of the High Class-A Florida State League.

At the request of the Marlins coach Ozzie Guillén, Cabrera made the transition from shortstop to third base.

By July, his average was at .277, and he led his team with 45 RBI earning himself a second trip to the Future's game, where he collected two singles.

He finished the season batting .278 with 43 doubles and 75 RBIs.

Up to this point, he hit just nine homers in his 489 at-bats.

Debuting in 2003, he was a two-time American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winner, a four-time AL batting champion, and a 12-time MLB All-Star.

To begin the 2003 season, Cabrera earned another promotion to the Double-A Carolina Mudcats.

There he again teamed up with Willis, the left-handed fireballer with whom he would join in the majors.

In April, he hit .402, and by June his average stood at .365 with 10 homers and 59 RBIs before being called up to the majors.

Cabrera made his major league debut on June 20, 2003, at 20 years old.

He hit 30 or more home runs in ten separate seasons and drove in over 100 runs in 12 separate seasons (including 11 consecutive seasons, 2004–2014).

Cabrera is the all-time leader in career home runs and hits by a Venezuelan player, surpassing Andrés Galarraga and Omar Vizquel respectively.

He joined the 500 home run club in 2021 and the 3,000 hit club in 2022; he was the seventh player in MLB history to reach both milestones.

Cabrera retired after the 2023 season and will continue working with the Tigers' organization as a special assistant to the president of baseball operations.

Cabrera was born in Maracay, Aragua State, Venezuela, to parents Miguel Cabrera and Gregoria Torres de Cabrera.

Growing up, Cabrera showed interest in volleyball as well as baseball.

From early on, he was guided by his maternal uncle, David Torres.

At 14, he was enrolled in a baseball school in Cagua, so he could continue his studies while still playing ball.

Although he primarily played in left and right field before 2006, he spent the majority of his major league career at first and third base.

Over the next four seasons, Cabrera was a regular player for the Marlins before being traded to the Detroit Tigers before the 2008 season.

Cabrera won four AL batting titles, including three in consecutive years (2011–2013), and batted over .300 in 11 different seasons.

He claimed the 17th MLB Triple Crown in 2012, the first to do so in 45 seasons.

Cabrera is one of three players in MLB history to have a career batting average above .300, 500 home runs, and 3,000 hits, joining Hank Aaron and Willie Mays.

Cabrera is regarded as one of the greatest hitters of all time.

In 2012, Cabrera became the first player since 1967 to win the batting Triple Crown, leading the AL with a .330 batting average, 44 home runs, and 139 runs batted in (RBI), earning him the AL MVP award that year.

In the first half of 2013, Cabrera was on pace to shatter his numbers from his prior Triple Crown season.

He became the first player to ever hit 30 home runs and 90 RBIs before the all-star break and was on pace to bat .366 with 53 home runs and 167 RBIs at that time.

However, injuries plagued much of the latter half of the season and both his performance and playing time were reduced as a result.

Overall, Cabrera still improved on his previous year's batting performance, including a career-high .348 batting average, and received his second consecutive AL MVP award.