Miguel Cabrera Is Approaching Legendary Status

Aug 9, 2013; Bronx, NY, USA; Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera (24) hits a home run to tie the game during the ninth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Yankees won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

What Miguel Cabrera is doing this season is simply legendary.  Not that lats years triple crown season wasn’t amazing but this season is different. This season Miggy is playing on one leg after suffering a hip flexor injury. Despite the injury he has taken his ability to clutch hit to another level.

Over the last week Miguel Cabrera has hit two of the most memorable regular season home runs in recent memory.

August 7th versus Cleveland at Progressive Field

Throughout the entire game Cleveland pitching prospect Danny Salazar had been dealing. He was regularly throwing over 100 MPH en route to striking out 10.  Salazar was rolling over the potent Detroit offense….that is until the 8th inning when Miguel Cabrera came to the plate.  Cabrera was 0-3 against Danny Salazar with three strikeouts.

When Miggy came to the plate in the 8th inning, the match-up certainly looked like it favored the Cleveland rookie over the hobbled Cabrera.  Then the extraordinary happened.  Cabrera, who had been over-matched the entire game, launched a two-out two-run blast to put the Tigers ahead and knock the rookie phenom out of the game. It would eventually take the Tigers 14 innings to finish off the Indians, but that home run set the stage for a series sweep that gave the Tigers a 7 game lead in the division.

August 9th versus The New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium

The Tigers entered this game on a 12 game win streak and were struggling against Yankee hurler Ivan Nova.  When the ninth inning opened with the sounds of Enter Sandman as the greatest closer ever to play the game strode out to the mound to face the top of the Tigers order.

Don Kelly was called on to pinch hit for rookie shortstop Jose Igelsias. Rivera got him to fly out to center.  Austin Jackson then doubled to set the table for Torii Hunter.  But Hunter couldn’t deliver, grounding out to first-base.  With two-out Miguel Cabrera came to the plate setting the stage for an epic match-up. The best closer the game has ever seen against the best hitter of the game today.  Cabrera was previously 0-5 against The Sandman with a strike-out.  On paper Miguel Cabrera seemed over-matched by Rivera.

But that is way they play the game.

With a 2-2 count Cabrera gingerly stepped into the batters box.  He had fouled the previous two Mariano Rivera cutters off of his left knee and was clearly in pain.  Then on that 2-2 pitch, the incredible happened.  Miguel Cabrera took a low and inside fastball over the center-field wall to tie the game.

Cabrera’s teammates were in awe of their third baseman. “They should make a movie from that at-bat,” Torii Hunter told Jason Beck of MLB.com. Jim Leyland commented on the next days pregame show that he jokingly told Lamont prior to the home run that “if he (Cabrera) hits one here, he is the greatest of all time.”

There is certainly a lot of baseball to be played to determine whether Cabrera is the best of all time. However one thing is certain, Miguel Cabrera is approaching legendary status as a Detroit Tiger.