It doesn't take much time to run out of superlatives when describing Miguel Cabrera’s ability to make square contact with a baseball.
He is, after all, one of the two best hitters of his generation. The best since Barry Bonds, probably better than Alex Rodriguez, right there with Albert Pujols, and it might take somebody like Mike Trout continuing his greatness for another 12 to 15 years for anyone in the next generation to match Cabrera’s offensive aptitude.
Cabrera reached another milestone Saturday afternoon, further establishing himself as one of the best hitters Major League Baseball has ever employed. On a totally misplaced Tyler Lyons first-inning cookie, the Detroit Tigers slugger smoked his 400th career home run over the center field wall of St. Louis’ Busch Stadium.
The home run made Cabrera the most prolific home run-hitting Venezuelan in MLB history, surpassing Andres Galarraga as well as former Tigers great and Hall of Famer Al Kaline. Cabrera is the 53rd player to amass 400 home runs.
While the glowing adjectives inserted before Cabrera’s name are running low, his latest feat reminds us that he is destined to gain another before the end of his career: immortal.
Cabrera is 32 years old, and after this season, he is under contract for eight more years and an unforgettable $248 million. As long as his body does not completely betray him, Cabrera is a lock for 600 career home runs and 3,000 career hits.
That would put him in the company of only Henry Aaron and Willie Mays as of now, but by the time Cabrera reaches those marks, Rodriguez and Pujols will both likely be in the club as well. That would make Cabrera only the fifth player to ever get to 600-3,000.
So yeah, “immortal” is a fine superlative.
Miguel Cabrera just hit his 400th homer at age 32. Most homers through age 32: 553 - ARod 500 - Foxx 475 - Pujols 468 - Griffey 454 - Mantle
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) May 16, 2015
We might have believed Cabrera’s health was already starting to betray him in the past year. He posted a 147 OPS-plus, hit 25 home runs and drove in 109 in 2014. For many players, that is a career year. But for Cabrera, those were his lowest OPS-plus and RBI marks since 2009, and it was his lowest home run total since his rookie year, when he played in just 87 games. Cabrera followed that with offseason ankle/foot surgery to remove bone spurs and repair a stress fracture.
To wonder about his health and production going into 2015 was reasonable, but Cabrera already buried those concerns before Saturday’s 400th homer. He entered the game with a .338/.442/.592 slash line, a 1.035 OPS, nine home runs and 28 RBI. His OPS-plus was 183.
His 154 career OPS-plus, which is an adjusted OPS calculated at Baseball-Reference.com used to compare players of different eras, is currently the 25th highest in baseball history. Seventeen of the 24 players ahead of him are in the Hall of Fame. Bonds, Shoeless Joe Jackson and Pujols are also in that group of 24.
Of those ahead of Cabrera, only Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle and Jimmie Foxx have 400 career homers, a Triple Crown and multiple MVP awards.
Cabrera, who still might be in his hitting prime, is already in truly elite company.
“What makes him so great and special is that you never, ever, ever catch Miguel off-guard,” teammate Victor Martinez told Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan in early May. “Once he steps up in the box, he's ready to hit. I don't know how he does it. … He's always ready to hit. You throw a pitch on the plate, he'll do damage.”
Another thing to keep in mind: Cabrera’s 6'4", 240-pound body does not seem to be betraying him. Despite the surgery and the “down” 2014, Cabrera has missed a total of 33 games since the start of the 2009 season. He has played in at least 148 games in all of his seasons except his rookie one, and he has averaged 191 hits and 34 home runs in each of those.
If Cabrera averages 180 hits and 25 home runs a season starting this year, he will reach 3,000 hits and 600 home runs in 2019. His contract extension, which doesn’t even kick in until next year, goes through 2023 with club options for the following two.
Miguel Cabrera will go down as one of the greatest Detroit athletes of all time. Maybe the greatest. Enjoy every at bat.
— Bob Wojnowski (@bobwojnowski) May 16, 2015
The Tigers were absolutely crushed by many for giving Cabrera that contract extension in March 2014, both by the baseball media and by major league executives. And rightfully so, since the deal takes Cabrera through his age-40 season, and players rarely produce at elite levels at the ages for which the Tigers extended Cabrera.
Even Pujols, the previous best hitter in baseball, is in major decline with the Los Angeles Angels. That makes the team’s $240 million investment in him look foolish, as it did at the time he signed. The decline, not coincidentally, started in Pujols’ age-33 season, the same age Cabrera will start his extension. And like Cabrera, Pujols was quite durable before he played in only 99 games that year.
That mistake is on the Tigers, though. It should not, and likely will not, tarnish Cabrera’s greatness. He is a truly amazing hitter who has produced through two eras, one that greatly favored hitting and the current one that greatly favors pitching. He is also unlikely to eek out milestones by hanging around as an average hitter, piling up the counting stats.
No, Cabrera is an all-time great. And sometime within the next five or so years, he will cement himself among the best the sport has ever seen when he undoubtedly reaches 600 and 3,000.
All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.
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