Miguel Cabrera

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Jose Miguel Torres Cabrera

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 4", Weight 185-240 lb.

Debut June 20, 2003
Born April 18, 1983 in Maracay, Venezuela

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[edit] Biographical Information

Miguel Cabrera is a star who played his first five seasons with the Florida Marlins and in 2008 played his first season with the Detroit Tigers. He broke in at the age of 20. Through age 24, the most similar player to Cabrera, according to the similarity scores method, was Hank Aaron. Cabrera led the 2008 American League in home runs with 37, the fewest homers for an American League leader since 1989 when Fred McGriff hit 36.

Cabrera was signed as a free agent and began play in the minors at age 17 as a shortstop. He was not a strong hitter at first, but blossomed in 2003 in the Double A Southern League when he hit .365 and slugged .609 in 69 games for Carolina.

As a rookie, Cabrera played 87 games in the majors, and then hit a home run in Game 4 of the 2003 World Series.

From 2004-07, Cabrera has been on the All Star team, and he was 5th in the MVP voting in both 2005 and 2006. He has split his defensive time between the outfield and third base, being voted a Silver Slugger once as an outfielder and once as a third baseman. He was second in the league in batting in 2006.

In 2007, Cabrera had a typical season with the bat, with an OBP of .400 and a slugging percentage around .550.

Cabrera reached 500 RBI in the majors at age 24 years and 139 days. The only players to get to that number quicker were Mel Ott (23, 74 days) and Ted Williams (24, 4). The 500th RBI came on a single against Shawn Hill to drive in Hanley Ramirez.

In December of 2007, Cabrera was dealt with Dontrelle Willis in a blockbuster trade to the Detroit Tigers for Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, Dallas Trahern, Mike Rabelo, Eulogio De La Cruz and Burke Badenhop.