Tigers celebrate Miggy's exciting, historic run

DETROIT -- Miguel Cabrera was in a joking mood Friday afternoon. When asked what he learned from his pursuit of 500 career home runs that could help him on his road to 3,000 hits, he smiled.

“I think 3,000 is different,” he said, “because an infield hit can make it.”

He got a good laugh. Hours later, his 2,980th hit was a self-fulfilling prophecy, a broken-bat grounder down the third-base line as he hurried his 38-year-old frame to first base. The crowd roared as the hit counter updated in left field.

Cabrera’s 1-for-4 night wasn’t enough to help the Tigers in a 3-1 loss to the Royals. Still, on a Friday night that the Tigers designated as Miggy Celebration Day, it was a memorable evening nonetheless.

“We owe it to Miggy to thank him for the run at 500, the eventual run at 3,000 and all that comes with that,” manager A.J. Hinch said.

The Tigers went all-out to celebrate their iconic slugger’s milestone homer from last month, capped by an on-field pregame ceremony.

General manager Al Avila recalled being the Florida Marlins’ scouting director in the late 1990s and challenging his scouts to find the best international player available, only to be skeptical when Miguel Garcia came back a couple weeks later raving about a skinny kid from Maracay, Venezuela.

Former Tigers manager Jim Leyland thanked Cabrera for giving his all during their seasons together, including his Triple Crown season in 2012. Josh Rawitch, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, was part of the festivities in a preview of Cabrera’s eventual path to Cooperstown. Cabrera’s family posed for pictures and the many mementos he received as gifts.

“I think my kids, they don't really know what's going on right now,” Cabrera said earlier. “But I think in time, they're going to find out. I'm grateful because they're able to see this. Hopefully they can enjoy it.”

Royals All-Star catcher and fellow Venezuelan Salvador Perez watched the ceremony -- first from the top step of the Royals dugout, then from the outfield as he prepared to warm up Royals starter Carlos Hernández. Perez hugged Cabrera at home plate before his first at-bat.

The cheers from the crowd of 24,877 each time Cabrera stepped to the plate was a reminder of the reception he received during each at-bat as he neared 500 homers last month.

“That week I was in Detroit, every at-bat the fans [go wild]. It was a lot of pressure,” Cabrera admitted. “Even in the playoffs, you don't see that every at-bat. To be able to get through and do it, I felt relief.”

Cabrera had a hard-hit ground ball out against Hernández in his first at-bat Friday, but it bounced off first baseman Carlos Santana and to Whit Merrifield, who threw to Hernández covering the bag. Cabrera then grounded into a double play in the third. His infield single off Domingo Tapia helped spark a sixth-inning rally that culminated in the Tigers’ lone run on an Eric Haase single, tying the game following Whit Merrifield’s sacrifice fly off Casey Mize in the third.

After Adalberto Mondesi tripled and scored in the seventh, Cabrera came back up in the eighth following a Robbie Grossman walk. Hard-throwing Royals reliever Josh Staumont jammed him into another grounder down the third-base line, but Mondesi fielded it cleanly to start a double play.

“That’s OK, Miggy, I still love you,” a fan shouted as Cabrera returned to the dugout.

Cabrera has 20 hits to go for 3,000. The Tigers have nine games remaining this season. Considering he had a streak of nine consecutive hits earlier this month, it’s hard to rule out Cabrera making a run towards 3,000 during the Tigers’ season-ending road trip to Minnesota and Chicago.

His joke about the infield hit was meant to point out that it’s easier to get base hits than home runs, sometimes as much on good fortune as good contact. His first two outs Friday had expected batting averages of .430 and .520, according to Statcast, but his single had a mere .080 xBA.

Still, more likely than not, he’ll take the chase into next season and the Tigers’ opening road trip to Seattle and Oakland. And that would be fine for the Tigers.

“I told Miggy the other day: We’ve really enjoyed this season, with all the things he’s done,” Hinch said. “It’s brought life and energy into this ballpark. Watching him handle it has been really cool. He has never been selfish about it one day this season, and that’s pretty cool to see.”