Cabrera among all-timers, yet 'I've gotta produce'

DETROIT -- Slowly but surely, the milestones are falling for Miguel Cabrera. He passed Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig and Roberto Alomar on the MLB all-time hits list this week, and entered Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Marlins tied for 61st with Carlos Beltran, with Hall of Famer Chipper Jones next up. (Cabrera went 2-for-3 to pass both.) He passed a couple more Hall of Famers, Ernie Banks and Tony Perez, on the career RBI leaderboard.

At some point in the next couple years, the 3,000-hit club will likely open its doors as long as Cabrera stays healthy. When it does, he said, he’ll celebrate with his family and the city. But his worry right now is the standard he has set for himself, trying to regain his past production and outpace Father Time.

“I want to find my power,” the 36-year-old Cabrera said Wednesday. “I feel like I can do that. Taking my hits, take the way they're pitching me is right now my goal, finding a great position, but I'm trying to find a spot to go out there and be free and swing the bat hard with power and make good contact.”

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So far, that has been elusive. Though Cabrera ranks among the top 5 percent of Major Leaguers in hard-hit rate and top 15 percent in average exit velocity, he entered Thursday with one home run and eight doubles out of 49 hits in 168 at-bats, a .357 slugging percentage that ranks 190 points below his career clip. His .719 OPS is well under his .942 career rate, despite a .292 average and .362 on-base percentage.

“Average is back and forth. You don't control average,” Cabrera said. “But it's nice when you hit for power. When you do that, you help your team to score more runs. When you're able to do that, you put more pressure on the opponent.”

To that end, he’s adjusting his approach and elevating his launch angle. When his timing was off early in the season, swinging too early, he was looking for line drives, saying it does him no good to lift the ball when he’s not hitting with authority. That has changed; his launch angle has risen from about six degrees in the opening month to 11.2 degrees now, according to Statcast.

“I feel closer,” he said. “It's funny because I think [in a game] last week I went 0-for-4 but I hit three fly balls. I was excited to hit a ball in the air. I'm trying to find the right spot to hit the ball and trying to hit the ball with more power. …

“I think it's my extension, being right with my hands. I try to be ready too soon. I'm trying to be too fast and I'm hitting the ball to left field. That's not my way of hitting. My way of hitting is staying inside the ball and trying to get my extension.”

Much as he hates to use injuries as an excuse, he admits they’re a factor. The biceps tear that cost him much of last season is one. The knee issues that hampered him in years past are another. The ailments that he played through in years past when the Tigers were trying to win a World Series are now catching up with him.

“In one moment, I say no,” he said. “But I talk to a lot of guys that have had the same injuries and they say it takes some time. And I say, ‘I don't got too much time. I’ve gotta produce. People aren't going to understand that. It's like game time, so it's no time for excuse.’

“I don't like excuses. I’m not an excuse guy. But if it's the way it is, it's the way it is. I don't worry, but I'm working hard to come back.”

At some point, he’ll worry about the milestones, the leaderboards and record books. Having watched Albert Pujols join the 2,000-RBI club in person earlier this month, he knows how important those can be. But he wants those as much for the fans as for him.

“Detroit has been so great for me,” he said. “I always want to appreciate the way they treat me here. I always try to do everything I can do to get better.”