I still remember the day Miguel Cabrera was traded to the Tigers.
In fact, I remember where I was.
On December 5, 2007, I was in a Canton, Michigan Kroger grocery shopping after work when I got a call from my then-boss Jason. I picked up the phone thinking it was another mundane work call until I heard Jason ecstatic on the other end of the line.
“Did you hear?!”, he asked keeping in mind social media wasn’t nearly as prevalent in everyday life as it is today.
“Hear what?” I asked.
“We fucking traded for Miguel Cabrera!” Jason said seemingly still in utter disbelief at what had happened that evening.
It was an incredible course of events that happened that night. Then Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski pulled off some fantasy bullshit on the Flordia Marlins trading away two top prospects in Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller in addition to Dallas Trahern, Eulogio De La Cruz, Mike Raebelo, and Burke Badenhop for Dontrell Willis and Miguel Cabrera.
And yeah, Maybin was the Tigers’ top prospect at the time who would eventually make his way back to the organization while Miller became one of the better late-inning relievers later in his career the trade itself can without a doubt be seen as one of the more lopsided transactions in franchise history.
But the Miggy trade became more than just a lopsided trade in the Tigers’ favor. It signaled a progression for the organization. It let the baseball world know that 2006 wasn’t a fluke and that 2003 was vastly in the rearview mirror. It was a transition from the early renaissance of Tigers baseball, the 2006 run, to the high renaissance of the late 2000s and early 2010s.
For millennials like myself, our first taste of the Tigers’ success came with the 2006 team. That Detroit baseball renaissance brought on masters like Ivan Rodriguez and Magglio Ordonez after the dark ages of the 90s and early 2000s where our best memories came from guys like Bobby Higginson and Shane Halter.
Seriously, imagine the direction of this team if, in some bizarro world, Dombrowski didn’t pull the trigger on that Cabrera trade.
That’s what makes Cabrera’s career so special, especially for fans my age. Sure we didn’t get a World Series during the era of Miguel Cabrera which is disappointing, especially given some of those star-studded teams and heartbreaking late postseason losses, but we got to witness some great baseball from some exciting Tigers teams featuring one of the greatest players the game has ever seen.
Watching Cabrera was simply a privilege. Something that was even more pleasurable because he played for our team delivering baseball memories that’ll last a lifetime and some we probably wouldn’t dream of happening here living through the prior Tigers dark ages. From the MVP races, the Triple Crown, his battle with Mariano Rivera back in 2013, to the personal milestones late in his career, it’s all something we’ll still probably take for granted when the 2024 season rolls around next Spring.
So despite the contrarians. Despite those who would rather lambast fans trying to appreciate the moment with “Well actually he should’ve retired five years ago” continue to enjoy it. Continue to live it. Continue to talk about it. Players like Cabrera are generational. They make the game more than just a game.
Thank you, Miggy.