Miguel Cabrera, Venezuelan baseball player
José Miguel Cabrera Torres (born April 18, 1983), nicknamed "Miggy", is a Venezuelan professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Since his debut in 2003 he has been a two-time American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winner, a four-time AL batting champion, and an 11-time MLB All-Star. He has played at first and third base for most of his major league career, but primarily played left and right field before 2006. He claimed the 17th MLB Triple Crown in 2012, the first to do so in 45 seasons.
In the Venezuelan Winter League (Liga de Beisbol Profesional de Venezuela), Cabrera was signed by Tigres de Aragua at 16 years old. He recorded his first hit in LVBP in December 1999.Cabrera was signed in 1999 as an amateur free agent by the Florida Marlins, and progressed through their minor league system. He made his MLB debut in mid-2003 at the age of 20, and contributed to the Marlins' World Series success later that year. Over the next four seasons, Cabrera was a regular player for the Marlins before being traded to the Detroit Tigers in late 2007. In 2012, Cabrera became the first player since 1967 to win the batting Triple Crown, leading the AL with a .330 batting average, 44 home runs, and 139 runs batted in (RBI), earning him the AL MVP award that year. In 2013, Cabrera improved on his previous year's batting performance, including a career-high .348 batting average, and received another AL MVP award.
Cabrera has won four AL batting titles, including three in consecutive years (2011–2013), and has batted over .300 in 11 different seasons. He has hit 30 or more home runs in ten separate seasons, and driven in over 100 runs in 12 separate seasons (including 11 consecutive seasons, 2004–2014). Through 2021, he ranks 18th all-time in career total bases (5,124). In 2021, Cabrera became the all-time leader in career hits by a Venezuelan player, surpassing Omar Vizquel. On August 22, 2021, Cabrera became the 28th member of major league baseball's 500 home run club.