There's a lot of talk going on in the media regarding Miguel Cabrera recently. The man is just... on fire. He's nearly eclipsed his Triple-Crown winning numbers from last year, and there's still over a month left in the season. What makes him even more remarkable is that he's been continuing to produce big hits and clutch RBIs while battling injuries. He's raising the bar for athletes throughout the sport, and I have to say it's been an honor to work for the Tigers while Cabrera has decided to write his own chapter in baseball history.
On Friday night, Cabrera decided that he really didn't want to play extra innings, so he ended the game in the bottom of the 9th inning. I was working that night, and heading on my way from my spot along the Tigers' dugout to the left field grandstands in order to get into position to clear out Tigers fans once the game was concluded, regardless of the actual victors. I had been talking with another usher, and shaking my head at the seemingly simple conclusion everyone but me had seemed to already arrive towards: Cabrera was going to win the game and we would be heading home at a decent hour. We were making our way around the lower bowl walkway when Cabrera muscled-up a 3-1 pitch the opposite way and put it into the right field camera well. All I could do was smile, shake my head and clap as the stadium around me erupted in celebration.
Saturday night was another absolutely memorable moment for Cabrera. Knowing that his team needed the early boost in offense, Cabrera stepped up to the plate and stared down Bruce Chen of the Kansas City Royals, waited on the first pitch, and effortlessly smacked a high and outside 85 mph "fast"ball to left field for a two run shot. 2 pitches, 2 nights, 2 home runs. Again, all I could do was smile, clap, and shake my head in disbelief. As Mario Impemba of the Fox Sports Detroit baseball broadcasting team said; "Apparently this is a video game. It's just that easy."
Maybe for him, it -is- that easy. Maybe he's holding back on us. Maybe he's found the cheat codes that don't involve PED's. But this is his world right now. I'm just an usher at his ball park.
