Miguel Cabrera, a hitter for the Major League Baseball (MLB) team, Detroit Tigers, has an impressive record that has him lined up to become a Hall of Famer in the nearest future.
The professional Venezuelan baseball player at age 38 has bagged multiple American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, AL batting champion awards, and MLB All-Star awards since he became an MLB player at 20 years.
Sam Bats
With all that on his resume, it is not surprising that Sam Bats decided to collaborate with him in an endorsement deal. However, he tried bats by Louisville Slugger, Marucci, Nokona, X, and Zinger before he settled with Sam bats.
Sam bats are made from maple trees, unlike the regular ash tree bats. They don’t dent or split and become soft like ash bats when you use them for practice. This is because they are much harder, so you get to use them for a very long time.
Miguel’s bats are mostly black or brown, while a few are designed with a mix of both colors. He is known to wrap the handles of his bats in varying styles and write his jersey number, 24, on the knob or bottom of his bats. His signed bats are quite popular as some of them sell for as high as $7,865.
What’s Miguel Cabrera’s Story?
Miguel Cabrera was born into the sport. His parents met on a baseball diamond and were both excellent players, mom was in softball, and dad was in baseball.
His dad had to trade his baseball career later to become an auto mechanic when his dreams for a professional baseball career fizzled out.
Did Miguel start as a star player?
Miguel did not start as a star player. He put in the hard work like many other successful athletes.
From practicing with a stick and balled up paper in substitution of the real gear for a better part of his childhood to working almost every day with his uncle, David Torres, the year before he died, he did more than his fair share of work.
By the time he was six, he was good enough to play nationally and had already expressed his desire to play in the major leagues.
At age 14, Miguel was confident enough to pursue a professional career as a baseball player. His father was okay with it as long as he had good grades and got his high school diploma.
When did he sign for Florida Marlins?
And in July 1999, he signed with his favorite team, the Florida Marlins through the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers were in hot pursuit.
They had higher offers than the Marlins, but what made the deal for him was their devotion to improving young Hispanic baseball players.
From then on, he progressed to the big leagues and has played exceptionally, always improving his game, despite the many struggles he had with his game, health, and marriage.
What Makes Miguel Cabrera Unique?
Recently, Miguel became one of the rare players in major league history to get 2,000 hits before he turned 31, joining Tyrus Cobbs, Robin Yount, Alex Rodriguez, and some other legends in a list that is remarkable on its own.
However, he has more than hitting skills that him unique among others. Jeff Seidel, a USA TODAY Sports columnist, covered some professional MLB players’ thoughts, which they shared in an interview with him.
Famous People About Cabrera
Albert Kaline
When asked about Miguel, Albert Kaline, his late hitting coach, who had an impressive total of over 3,000 hits in the 22 seasons he played for the Detriot Tigers, mentioned how Miguel’s powerful hits get him base hits though he couldn’t run well.
Torii Hunter
Torii Hunter, former MLB center fielder, and right fielder admire Miguel’s humility and hard work, despite his many achievements. He respects the amazing things Miguel does behind the scenes that produce the spectacular results everyone sees.
Christopher Davis
Christopher Davis, widely known as ‘Crush Davis’, a professional first baseman on another MLB team, Baltimore Orioles, is impressed by Miguel’s balance despite his size.
Wallace Joyner
Wallace Joyner, the Tigers’ hitting coach, a former All-Star player for the MLB California Angels, respects Miguel’s attitude with his teammates. He admires the respect Miguel has for other team members, an attribute that can be rare with famous and successful people.
Bradley Ausmus
Bradley Ausmus, a retired American MLB catcher, a former opponent turned manager, was amazed by his hitting skills and uncommon high baseball IQ when he got to know him in close quarters.
Justin Chamberlain
Justin Chamberlain, a professional relief pitcher, played against Miguel for several teams before they became teammates. He talked about Miguel’s approach to baseball, his calmness, and adjustment mastery. What impressed him most was Miguel’s adjustment, and he went on to cite an event that proved just how good Miguel was.
How to Become the Next Baseball Success Story?
If you are looking to become the next baseball success story, there are vital points in Miguel’s story to help you in your journey.
Before you think of success, you have to know your passion, most likely something you’ve been doing or interested in since you were a kid. It could also be something you have done so much you’ve become quite good at. Then work hard at developing it.
But that’ll be frustrating if you are not working strategically. Focus on your area of strength and hone it to the best possible state. Know your weaknesses too, and work on them.
History has a way of repeating itself. With that in mind, you want to study the best baseball players, the Hall of Famers, learn from your coaches, and ask questions.
What is common between all coaches?
While some coaches played for MLB before they retired from active playing, others didn’t. But one thing all coaches have in common is experience, so pay attention. And as Justin Chamberlain mentioned, adjustment is an important skill. It differentiates the top players from other players. If you put in the practice hours, you’ll be able to master it. But only if you stick around till you do.
You have to keep improving and do different things to help your game and help win. Whatever it takes to win the game.
And all the way up there, stay humble. Humility is highly respected in successful people.
Conclusion
Like many other professional star athletes, Miguel Cabrera started as an amateur with a passion for baseball. And put in enough hard work to get him on record as one of the best baseball players ever.
Don’t be deceived by the word ‘enough,’ the work it takes to make you one of the best baseball players is easily twice, thrice, or more of what other people do.
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