DETROIT – I don’t know about you, but the end of Miguel Cabrera’s legendary career has me feeling a bunch of conflicting emotions all at once.
Nostalgia. Gloom. Heartache. But also... excitement. Hope for the future.
On one hand, Cabrera is one of the main reasons that teenage Derick fell in love with the game of baseball. Suffering through 119 losses with my dad in 2003. Jumping up and down with my mom and sister after Magglio’s homer. Those Tigers teams are why I live and breathe baseball to this day.
But anyone who’s watched Cabrera and the Tigers over the past several years has to face a hard truth: It’s time to move on.
I’m sure most of you -- Tigers fans young and old -- will have similar memories and emotions as Cabrera plays out his final games this week. I’m going to sift through some of mine, starting from the very beginning.
The magical Cabrera years
The timing couldn’t have been better. Cabrera was traded to the Tigers the winter after my friends and I founded a fantasy baseball league that just last week completed its 18th season. This isn’t just any league -- it’s a high stakes dynasty league with a traveling trophy, a longstanding group chat, and year-round bragging rights.
That league was born during homeroom class inside Bedford High School (Yes, mom -- Jordan and I had already finished our homework). It’s the reason I started paying very close attention to the MLB beyond Detroit. Albert Pujols was the No. 1 pick. Ichiro was still a stud. Carlos Zambrano became my star pitcher, and I got to watch him whenever the Cubs were on WGN.
Because of this league, I knew who Cabrera was. But I had no idea the player who was about to spend the next decade dominating both on the field and in fantasy was coming to my very own town.
My dad and I were watching SportsCenter -- the real SportsCenter, with actual highlights and analysis, not guys yelling across a desk for hours about LeBron and the Cowboys -- when the news broke.
The Tigers had traded Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller, two prospects we’d gotten glimpses of during the 2007 season, for Cabrera.
Woah, 15-year-old me was stunned. Even by Mike Ilitch’s standards, this move was a blockbuster. And it didn’t pay off immediately.
All I remember about 2008 was that the Tigers built a super team on paper but left us all bitterly disappointed. The following season was better, but the scars from Game 163 will never heal. Cabrera was one of the few reasons to watch an otherwise unremarkable 2010.
But the next couple of seasons after that... man, they were special. They were worth the wait.
Those college summers back home in Bedford were all about the Tigers. I worked most days at the park during little league games and then went over to watch the Tigers and Indians with my friends Jordan, Jacob, and Micah.
Euchre, three small Hungry Howie’s pizzas for $10, and baseball. That trio hit the spot every single night. Jordan and Jacob are Cleveland fans, so I had to fight to get Fox Sports Detroit as much screen time as Sports Time Ohio.
Watching the Tigers crush the Indians never got old. To this day, Jason Kipnis, Justin Masterson, and Grady Sizemore bring a scowl to my face. But the best part of those games was Cabrera. Every time he came to the plate, there was a chance you were about to see something special.
I’ll never forget the Chris Perez game -- Tigers fans know exactly which one I’m talking about. The Tigers and Indians were battling for the AL Central at Comerica Park, and one game went into extra innings. The Tigers fell behind by three runs in the 10th, so Cleveland brought in Perez, the closer.
Detroit tied the game before Cabrera even came to the plate, but he still had a little drama left in the tank. He blasted a game-winning homer to complete an epic comeback. My friends were demoralized. I was screeching.
Gosh, that was so awesome.
Remember those playoff series against the Oakland Athletics? When Justin Verlander dominated and Cabrera hit that homer off of Sonny Gray? Or when the Tigers swept the Yankees into oblivion on their way to the 2012 World Series?
Even when he wasn’t at the plate, Cabrera was a joy to watch. He used to make Adrian Beltre so mad by touching his head, and give Prince Fielder a massive bear hug after every win.
There are too many memories to count, from Miggy’s game-tying blast against Mariano Rivera to his Triple Crown curtain call to the countless two-out RBI knocks through the right side of the infield. Thanks to Miguel Cabrera, the Tigers were a staple on Sunday Night Baseball, which seemed really, really cool as a kid.
Those were the highlights. But honestly, my favorite memories are of those random summer nights: listening to Mario and Rod and watching Tigers games that had so much meaning. Austin Jackson gunning a runner out at home to end a game. Carlos Guillen staring down Jered Weaver. Phil Coke getting the final out of the ALCS.
Cabrera was the centerpiece of those teams, the face who embodies the peak years of my Detroit Tigers fandom.
For that, I’ll never forget him. For that, I’ll always be grateful.
The darker years
But we have to address the elephant in the room. They say all good things come to an end -- what they don’t say is sometimes that end comes long after things aren’t quite as good anymore.
As Miggy plays his final few games this week, the nostalgia from those summer nights in Bedford will resurface. I’ll be sad. I’ll text my friends and my parents. I might even cut some onions.
But deep down, I know it’s for the best.
I still watch almost every Tigers game, and it would be an understatement to say they’ve become much less enjoyable. Since their last playoff push came to an end in 2016, the Tigers have consistently been one of the worst teams in baseball.
And it’s no coincidence that their struggles align with the end of Cabrera’s time as an elite hitter.
In 2016, Cabrera was an All-Star who hit 38 homers and 31 doubles. He batted .316 with a .956 OPS. You know, he was just... Miggy.
The following year, he wasn’t.
Injuries started to catch up to Cabrera at age 34, and he hit just 16 home runs in 130 games. The batting average dropped 67 points, and one season after providing MVP-caliber production, Cabrera fell short of league average.
He was never the same. Between injuries (2018) and poor performance (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023), Cabrera struggled throughout the final seven years of his massive contract. In total, he hit just 64 homers and 101 doubles across 696 games.
Suddenly, a Tigers team dealing with problems across the diamond was also forced to put a below-average MLB hitter in the heart of the lineup every night. For the better part of a decade.
It was hard to watch. We never even got to say goodbye to the Cabrera everyone knew and loved. One minute he was battling Mike Trout for MVP awards, the next he couldn’t catch up to a 95 mph fastball.
Let’s be clear: The Tigers have never been close enough to the playoffs that Cabrera actually cost them anything. In fact, his race to 500 homers and 3,000 hits gave fans something to root for during these dark times.
But as much as he encapsulated those magical Tigers runs from 2011-2014, Cabrera suddenly became a daily reminder of just how far the team had fallen.
Dave Dombrowski and J.D. Martinez earned their first World Series together with the Red Sox. Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and Rick Porcello won Cy Young awards in Houston, Washington, and Boston. Anibal Sanchez and Fernando Rodney helped the Nationals win a ring. Even Mario and Rod moved on.
It seemed like the league was littered with reminders of what the Tigers used to be, and what they were so far from becoming again. The one remaining link to those days is what’s left of the once-great Miguel Cabrera.
That’s not meant to be harsh. It’s raw honesty. The milestones have been iconic. The retirement tour has been fun. But it’s time for the Tigers to move on.
What’s next?
What do the Detroit Tigers look like without Miguel Cabrera? Nobody truly knows, but the hope is that they can recapture some of the magic from those early Cabrera teams.
The Tigers have a solid foundation of young players. Tarik Skubal is an ace-caliber pitcher to build a rotation around, and there are plenty of others competing for the other four spots. Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, and Kerry Carpenter look like middle-of-the-order bats in a competitive lineup.
Is it almost time for the Tigers to promote Colt Keith and Justyn-Henry Malloy? How much farther away are the likes of Jace Jung, Justice Bigbie, Max Clark, and Kevin McGonigle?
Will Scott Harris and newly hired general manager Jeff Greenberg make moves to improve the roster this offseason, or are we looking at another year of development?
It won’t hurt to have Cabrera’s annual $32 million come off the books, but will that money be reinvested into the team’s success, or simply placed in the Pizza! Pizza! lined pockets of ownership? We just don’t know.
The trajectory of the franchise hasn’t been this promising since the Tigers were swept in the 2014 ALDS. Al Avila left some very nice parting gifts, and Harris’ first season had its moments, too.
But it doesn’t feel like the Tigers can fully move onto the next chapter until they close this one, and that means saying goodbye to Cabrera.
His retirement is the end of a long era -- one that brought us incredible highs and brutal lows. That’s why there are some mixed feelings among all the joyous memories.
But as we celebrate Cabrera’s career in the coming days, his lasting impact in the coming months, and his Hall of Fame induction in the coming years, the the good times are the ones that will ultimately shine through. That’s how it should be.
Goodbye, Miggy.
And thank you.
