Venezuelan slugger Miguel Cabrera became the eighth player in Tigres history to have 2,000 hits for the club after hitting that mark with an RBI single Sunday against the Twins.
Cabrera, who is on his way to 3,000 major league hits and could hit the milestone as soon as next year, has accomplished a few feats recently. On Saturday, the Maracay native surpassed Tigers Hall of Famer Charlie Gehringer to place 50th on the all-time hit list with 2,841 hits, a two-run homerun that gave him the lead the Felinos in a 4-2 win over the Twins to complete a sweep on a doubleheader.
In the process, Cabrera became one of just 16 players to rank in the Top 50 of all time in hits, home runs and RBIs, joining Hank Aaron, Dominicans Adrián Beltré and Albert Pujols, Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Eddie. Murray, Stan Musial, Mel Ott, Rafael Palmiero, Cal Ripken Jr., Frank Robinson, Alex Rodríguez, Babe Ruth, Dave Winfield and Carl Yastrzemski.
Cabrera stood at the plate for his first shift of the day on Sunday and worked a 2-0 count against starter Kenta Maeda before sneaking a strong groundout down the left side, which brought Venezuelan Victor Reyes to the plate. , who opened the episode with a triple.
The Tigers honored Cabrera between innings with a video tribute. Cabrera was congratulated in the dugout, then had some fun and walked out of the cave to “greet the crowd” in a nearly empty Comerica Park.
Cabrera, who connected his first 842 hits with the Marlins, joins a list of Tigers legends who have had 2,000 hits for the club: Ty Cobb (3,900), Al Kaline (3,007), Gehringer (2,839), Harry Heilmann (2,499), Sam Crawford (2,466), Lou Whitaker (2,369) and Alan Trammell (2,365).
Only one other active player has 2,000 hits for a club: Pujols had 2,073 hits for the Cardinals before moving to the Angels. (GG).