Tigers’ Cabrera becomes first Venezuelan to hit 500th home run

Miguel Cabrera, the living legend of the Detroit Tigers, has reached the milestone of 500 home runs as the first Venezuelan baseball player to achieve the feat.

Cabrera blasted a 128-meter drive over the scoreboard in the right-center field at Rogers Center on a Sunday game against Toronto Blue Jays, equalizing the game 1-1 in the sixth inning. The Tigers won the game 5-3.

Cabrera has become the 28th member of the exclusive 500 home run club in MLB history. No one else has attained this milestone in the history of the Detroit Tigers, and no other Venezuelans have gone that far. In fact, Cabrera is the sixth “non-American” player to join the 500-homer club.

After hitting his 499th home un on August 12 in Baltimore, his bat was dormant for eight games. Out of the eight games, six took place at Comerica Park, the Tigers’ home, drawing legions of local fans expecting to witness a historic moment. "It was the first time in five or six years I've seen the crowd that excited and with that much energy,” the Tigers said in his aftergame interview. “I wanted to do it in Detroit. But it's tough to hit home runs there.”

Cabrera made his debut in the Florida Marlins (now Miami) in 2003 and led his team to the World Series Championship in the same year. In 2012, he became the American League MVP, winning three titles in batting average (0.330), home runs (44), and RBIs (139).

With a total 2,955 hits batted in his career, he could become the first baseball player in MLB history to bat 500 homers and 3,000 hits in the same season once he manages to add 45 hits in the remaining 36 games in the season. The Tigers have picked the fixture on Sept. 25 as an event match for “Miggy Celebration Day” for his historic 500 home-run record.


Bae-Jung Kim wanted@donga.com