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Miguel Cabrera nears historic MLB marks on road to Hall of Fame

It is only a matter of time before the Detroit Tigers' Venezuelan joins the 3,000-hit club and 500 home runs

By ADN America Staff

April 12, 2022 11:13am

Updated: April 13, 2022 8:52am

The Detroit Tigers started the 2022 season with the illusion of competing again in the Central Division of the American League after the arrival of new and promising players. Puerto Rican Javier Baez arrived to be the star, and on Monday, he confirmed it by hitting two-run home runs that gave the Tigers a 3-1 win against the Boston Red Sox. Baez sent a 396-foot blast past reliever Ryan Brasier in left field, leading a revamped team that hopes to go far.

Yet the headlines in Detroit are being stolen by the Tigers' oldest player, Venezuelan Miguel Cabrera, who day after day takes the field in a race for the Cooperstown Hall of Fame. At the start of the Major League Baseball season, there are only three active players with more than 2,500 hits, and all three are Latin Americans: Dominicans Albert Pujols, Robinson Canó, and Venezuela's Cabrera, who is about to join one of the most exclusive clubs of all time.

The popular "Miggy" stands out because he is only nine hits away from reaching 3,000 and will be only the seventh player in the history of the Majors with 500 homers and 3,000 hits in his career. He would be the fourth player of Latin American descent to join the select group of 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, joining Dominican Pujols, Cuban Rafael Palmeiro, and Alex Rodriguez, born in New York as an American but of Dominican blood. The other three members of the club are not Latin American, but they do have their place in the Hall of Fame: Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Eddie Murray.

Out of his 20 seasons, the idol from Maracay, Venezuela, has played the last 15 with Detroit, with whom he has fired 2,147 of his 2,989 hits. Cabrera has two Most Valuable Player awards, a triple crown, four American League batting titles, and seven All-Star Game appearances playing for the Tigers. He also won the 2003 World Series with the Florida Marlins.

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