Detroit Tigers left-hander eduardo rodriguez he spent his entire 2012 season for Low-A Delmarva, an affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. He was 19 years old at the time and three seasons away from making his MLB debut.
This year, Miguel Cabrera — a fellow Venezuelan — made major league history.
He won the first Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski for the Boston Red Sox in 1967. Cabrera, now 39, led the American League with a .330 batting average, 44 home runs and 139 RBIs.
“Who didn’t see that?” Rodríguez said, 10 years later. “If you’re from Venezuela, you’re going to see that. Baseball players from Venezuela, you watch Miggy all the time. Having the opportunity to see him on TV, it was something special. You were watching the king play on TV.”
Rodriguez signed a five-year, $77 million contract with the Tigers in November. The 29-year-old joined forces with Cabrera, who influenced his decision to sign with Detroit.
Rodríguez has admired Cabrera for most of his life. They became friends in 2014 while working out at the same training center in Miami.
And Cabrera is five hits away from the historic milestone of 3,000.
“For me it’s something special, especially for my country,” Rodriguez said, before the Tigers opened a three-game series against the New York Yankees at Comerica Park. “I know how big he is in my country, how big he is in Venezuela. He’s going to be something special to be a part of, and I really appreciate being a part of it. I’ll be here when it arrives. 3,000 views, and I can’t wait for that moment.”
Cabrera, from Maracay in Venezuela, leads his country in MLB hits (2,995), doubles (559), home runs (502), RBI (1,807) and bWAR (68.72).
He trails only Omar Vizquel (2,968) and Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio (2,599) in total games played. Cabrera has competed in 2,596 games, with a .310 batting average, in his 20-year MLB career, so he will soon surpass Aparicio.
“He’s number 1 in my country,” Rodriguez said.
Other notable batsmen from Venezuela include Dave Concepción (2,488 games), Bobby Abreu (2,425), Andrés Galarraga (2,257), Ozzie Guillén (1993), Víctor Martínez (1973), Magglio Ordóñez (1,848), Asdrúbal Cabrera (1,822) and Elvis. Andrew (1809).
“I would say 90% of the country is going to be watching the game, where he’s looking for one or two hits,” Rodriguez said. “The whole country is going to be watching. That’s how big it will be in Venezuela when it reaches 3,000.”
When Cabrera reaches 3,000 hits, he will become the seventh player in MLB history with at least 500 home runs and 3,000 hits, joining Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Eddie Murray, Rafael Palmeiro, Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez. Only two of those players, Aaron and Pujols, also have 600 doubles.
“When you talk about something that six or seven people have done in the history of the game,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said, “we’ll be lucky if we ever see it again in our careers and in our lives.” . We’ll give him a proper celebration.”
Rodríguez faced Cabrera for the first time in 2016.
The Venezuelans have matched each other in 15 plate appearances, with Cabrera posting a .231 batting average (3-for-13), two walks and five strikeouts. Cabrera has no extra-base hits from Rodriguez.
“Every time I faced him, he was having fun the whole time,” Rodriguez said. “Every at-bat, every count, every time. The way he is, I was trying to be like that every time I faced him. I can’t tell you exactly about facing the real Miguel Cabrera, which is the one that hit.” home runs and all that.”
Rodriguez makes a good point.
Cabrera is no longer the same player he used to be. His Hall of Fame resume features a surplus of milestones: winning the 2003 World Series, back-to-back MVP awards, seven Silver Slugger Awards and four batting titles. Still, Cabrera hasn’t made an All-Star game since 2016.
But that doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous at the plate in 2022.
“It’s the same with Pujols,” Rodriguez said. “He’s old and whatever, but if you leave a pitch in the middle, he’ll knock it out of the ballpark. That’s how everyone sees Miggy. No matter how old he is, you know who he is and what damage he does.” he can do. “
Willi Castro returns
The Tigers placed shortstop Javier Báez in the Right thumb sore 10-day DLAnd since he’s not eligible to return until Saturday at the earliest, the Tigers needed a replacement.
willi castro Has returned.
“I was waiting for this moment,” Castro said. “I think this is where I belong. … When they sent me out, I wasn’t happy, obviously, like everyone else. But it’s good to be back. I’m going to come in with the mentality of playing hard every day.” and make the team win.
The Tigers had a few options to choose from to fill the shortstop void. Castro, Zack Short and Kody Clemens were all viable options on the 40-man roster, while Ryan Kreidler, the organization’s No. 7 prospect, according to MLB pipeline – is not on the 40-man list.
“Willi can play,” Hinch said. “I think he can help us win. There are a variety of reasons why you make moves up the roster when you do. With Willi being the first guy up, it’s the first opportunity for him to come back and help us win… With lucky he takes a step forward”.
Castro hit .265 (9-for-34) in eight games for Triple-A Toledo, throwing two walks and 10 strikeouts. The 24-year-old played 125 games for the Tigers last season, hitting .220 with nine home runs, 38 RBIs, a 5.1% walk rate and a 24.2% strikeout rate.
He was worth minus 12 defensive runs saved at second base, shortstop and left field.
“I know I fought a lot last year,” Castro said. “This year I come prepared to be here. I’ll see where they’re going to put me when Javy comes back. I’ll be here. Wherever they want me to play, I’ll be there playing and focusing on making the team win.”
injury updates
Right-hander Casey Mize (right elbow sprain), on the 10-day disabled list, is being evaluated daily. The Tigers are treating his symptoms, but they don’t know when he will pitch again.
The 24-year-old will remain closed until his symptoms subside.
“We haven’t learned anything new,” Hinch said. “It’s a mid-elbow sprain. I mean, that’s what it is. It’ll be the same tomorrow too. There’s nothing else we can do, other than treat the symptoms and let the swelling go away from his elbow, and then increase”. re-launch and make sure we don’t have any kind of hiccups.”
Right-hander Matt Manning (right shoulder discomfort) is likely to miss his scheduled start on Saturday against the Colorado Rockies, although the Tigers have not made an official decision.
The 24-year-old was pulled from last Saturday’s outing after two innings and 38 pitches. If Manning misses this Saturday’s game, it will be a precautionary move by the Tigers.
“The initial diagnosis has been positive,” Hinch said. “It’s not something that drags on and lasts for a long time. I think the big question is whether or not he’s going to be available for his start on Saturday… We’ll see how the next two days go and probably need to have an answer by Thursday.”
Left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin (left groin strain) is scheduled to launch Thursday for Low-A Lakeland. He will then transition to Triple-A Toledo for one or two relief appearances. After that, the Tigers plan to activate it. He signed a two-year, $13 million contract in March.
“Everything is going great with Chafin,” Hinch said.
Outfielder Derek Hill (right hamstring strain) advanced to Triple-A Toledo as part of his rehab assignment.
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