With a first-inning hit against fellow Venezuelan compatriot and Colorado Rockies pitcher Antonio Senzatela, Detroit Tigers legend Miguel “Miggy” Cabrera today became the 33rd member of the 3,000-hit club and only the seventh player in major league history to achieve the milestone and hit 500 home runs. Cabrera made history by grounding an opposite-field single to right field and triggering a roaring ovation of “Miggy! Miggy!” from the crowd of 37,566 at Comerica Park.
“Special numbers,” the 39-year-old said after the game, which the Tigers won 13-0. “It’s like something crazy you can’t describe. To be in this position, I always say thank God for giving me this opportunity.” Cabrera added a two-run single in the sixth inning before being replaced.
A future shoo-in for the Baseball Hall of Fame, Miggy is the first Venezuelan-born player and seventh Latino to reach the 3,000-hit mark, a list that includes Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente and Rod Carew as well as Rafael Palmeiro, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, and Adrian Beltre. Luis Aparicio is the only Venezuelan-born player in the Hall of Fame and he had 2,677 career hits.
Miggy won the Triple Crown and the first of back-to-back MVP awards in 2012. Only six other players have 3,000 hits and 500 homers: Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Palmeiro, Pujols, Rodriguez, and Eddie Murray.
