Third Baseman, Detroit Tigers
Age: 29 (April 18)
5th season
with Tigers
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’4” Weight: 249
Prior to 2012:
A native of
Venezuela, Cabrera became a top baseball prospect as a teenager and signed with
the Florida Marlins in 1999 at age 16 for $1.8 million. Initially assigned to
the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League in 2000, he played shortstop and batted .260
over the course of 57 games and finished the season with Utica of the Class A
New York-Pennsylvania League where he appeared in eight games and hit .250. In
2001 Cabrera was assigned to the Kane County Cougars of the Class A Midwest
League where he batted .268 with 19 doubles, 4 triples, 7 home runs, and 66
RBIs and was selected as a league All-Star. Moving on to Jupiter of the
advanced Class A Florida State League in 2002, Cabrera shifted from shortstop
to third base and hit .274 with 43 doubles, 9 home runs, and 75 RBIs and played
in the Radio Shack All-Star Futures Game. Moving up to Carolina of the Class AA
Southern League in 2003, he was batting .365 with 29 doubles, 10 home runs, and
59 RBIs when he was called up to the Marlins in June. He hit a walk-off home
run in his first game and had hits in five of his first six major league games
on his way to hitting .268 with 12 home runs and 62 RBIs while splitting time
between left field and third base. Appearing in both right and left field in
2004, Cabrera was an All-Star for the first time on his way to batting .294
with 33 home runs and 112 RBIs. Not a natural fit in the outfield, he saw action
in 29 games at third base in 2005, while regularly starting in left field, but
his offense remained strong as he hit .323 with 43 doubles, 33 home runs, and
116 RBIs. Playing third base full-time in 2006, Cabrera contended for the NL
batting title as he hit .339 with 50 doubles, 26 home runs, and 114 RBIs. His
2007 production was .320 with 34 home runs and 119 RBIs. He also had a fine
season defensively at third base. In the offseason the penurious Marlins traded
Cabrera to the Tigers along with LHP Dontrelle Willis as part of a blockbuster
deal. With his new club in 2008, who signed him to an eight-year, $152.3
million contract , he was moved to first base and, following a slow start,
batted .292 with a league-leading 37 home runs, plus 127 RBIs. In 2009 he hit .324
with 34 home runs and 103 RBIs, but a domestic disturbance late in the season
caused him to undergo treatment for alcohol abuse. The Tigers collapsed down
the stretch to blow a seven-game lead in the AL Central and missed the
postseason. 2010 was another outstanding season for the player nicknamed
“Miggy” as he led the AL in RBIs (126) and OBP (.420) while batting .328 with
45 doubles, 38 home runs, and a .622 slugging percentage. He finished second in
league MVP voting. In 2011 Cabrera led the league in batting (.344), OBP
(.448), and doubles (48), while also compiling 30 home runs and 105 RBIs. This
time he placed fifth in AL MVP balloting. Coming into the 2012 season Cabrera
was a six-time All-Star who was well-established as one of baseball’s best
hitters and was returning to third base to make room for the newly-acquired
Prince Fielder at first.
2012 Season Summary
Appeared in 161
games
3B – 154, DH – 7,
1B – 2
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 697 [6, tied with Robinson Cano & Adam Jones]
At Bats – 622
[9]
Runs – 109 [2]
Hits – 205 [2]
Doubles – 40 [7]
Triples – 0
Home Runs – 44 [1]
RBI – 139 [1]
Bases on Balls
– 66 [17]
Int. BB – 17 [2]
Strikeouts – 98
Stolen Bases – 4
Caught Stealing
– 1
Average - .330
[1]
OBP - .393 [4]
Slugging Pct. -
.606 [1]
Total Bases – 377
[1]
GDP – 28 [1]
Hit by Pitches
– 3
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 6 [15,
tied with nine others]
League-leading
home runs were +1 ahead of runners-up Josh Hamilton & Curtis Granderson
League-leading
RBIs were +11 ahead of runner-up Josh Hamilton
League-leading
batting average was +.004 ahead of runner-up Mike Trout
League-leading
slugging percentage was +.029 ahead of runner-up Josh Hamilton
League-leading
total bases were +32 ahead of runner-up Robinson Cano
League-leading
times grounded into double plays were +2 ahead of runners-up Michael Young
& Howie Kendrick
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 18, RBI – 71, AVG – .324, SLG – .557
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) at Oakland 5/10, (in 5 AB) at Boston 5/30, (in 5 AB) at Tampa Bay
6/28, (in 5 AB) at Kansas City 10/1
Longest hitting
streak – 14 games
HR at home – 28
HR on road – 16
Most home runs,
game – 2 on five occasions
Multi-HR games
– 5
Most RBIs, game
– 6 vs. Oakland 9/18
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding
Chances - 383
Put Outs – 127
Assists – 243
Errors – 13
DP – 31
Pct. - .966
Postseason: 13
G (ALDS vs. Oakland – 5 G; ALCS vs. NY Yankees – 4 G; World Series vs. San
Francisco – 4 G)
PA – 57, AB – 49,
R – 5, H – 13, 2B – 3,3B – 0, HR – 2, RBI – 8, BB – 7, IBB – 1, SO – 7, SB – 0,
CS – 0, AVG - .265, OBP - .368, SLG -.449, TB – 22, GDP – 2, HBP – 1, SH – 0, SF
– 0
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
MLB Player of
the Year: Sporting News
Silver Slugger
All-Star
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Miguel Cabrera,
Det.: 362 pts. - 22 of 28 first place votes, 92% share
Mike Trout, LAA:
281 pts. – 6 first place votes, 72% share
Adrian Beltre,
Tex.: 210 pts. – 54% share
Robinson Cano,
NYY: 149 pts. – 38% share
Josh Hamilton,
Tex.: 127 pts. – 32% share
---
Tigers went 88-74
to finish first in the AL Central Division by 3 games over the Chicago White
Sox, while leading the league in triples (39). The slow-starting Tigers maintained
a narrow lead over the White Sox in September until a 10-5 finish nailed down
the division title. Won ALDS over the Oakland Athletics, 3 games to 2. Won ALCS
over the New York Yankees, 4 games to 0. Lost World Series to the San Francisco
Giants, 4 games to 0.
Aftermath of 2012:
Cabrera
repeated as AL MVP in 2013 as he won his third straight batting title (.348)
while hitting 44 home runs with 137 RBIs. He also topped the circuit with a
.442 on-base percentage and .636 slugging percentage. The Tigers again won the
AL Central and advanced to the ALCS before falling. In 2014 he batted .313 with
a league-leading 52 doubles to go along with 25 home runs and 109 RBIs. Back at
first base, in the offseason Cabrera had ankle surgery and never again played
regularly at third base. Hindered by the sore ankle and also out for six weeks
with a calf injury in 2015, he still won another batting championship (.338)
but his power production dropped to 18 home runs and 76 RBIs. Cabrera also led
the AL with a .440 OBP. His power production rebounded to 38 home runs and 108
RBIs in 2016, to go along with a .316 average and .563 slugging percentage. In
an injury-riddled season in 2017, he missed being an All-Star for the first
time since 2009 and limited to 130 games he batted just .249 with 16 home runs
and 60 RBIs. In 2018 injuries held Cabrera to 38 games and he hit .299. He
appeared in 136 games in 2019, primarily as a Designated Hitter, and batted
.282 with 12 home runs and 59 RBIs. Strictly a DH during the pandemic-shortened
2020 season, he hit .250 in 57 games with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs. For his
major league career through 2020, Cabrera has batted .313 with 2866 hits that
include 581 doubles, 17 triples, and 487 home runs. He has also scored 1457
runs and compiled 1729 RBIs, a .391 OBP, and a .540 slugging percentage. With
the Tigers the numbers have been .313 with 1008 runs scored, 2024 hits, 398
doubles, 7 triples, 349 home runs, 1206 RBIs, a .392 OBP, and .539 slugging
percentage. Appearing in 55 postseason games he has hit .278 with 13 home runs
and 38 RBIs. He is a four-time batting champion and 11-time All-Star (7 with
Detroit).
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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