Magnificent Miguel: MLB Baseball News

Looking at how Miguel Cabrera became a member of the 500 club in MLB

(SALEM, Ore.) - Miguel Cabrera is the 28th player in MLB history to hit 500 home runs. He'll certainly become the seventh Major Leaguer with 500 career home runs and 3,000 hits, either late this season or early next.

Whether you bet on basketball, baseball or football, he’s a sportsman to keep an eye on. He's also one of the game's most memorable characters, recognized almost as much for his enjoyment of the game as for his ability to master it.

Miguel Cabrera's 500th career home run is a snapshot of his tremendous career, considering how many home runs he hit throughout 19 seasons. It was a perfect setting.

After the Tigers' 5-3 triumph in 11 innings at Rogers Centre, Cabrera stated, "It was excellent timing because that levelled the game right there."

Cabrera became the first Tiger to hit 500 home runs and the first player since David Ortiz in 2015. He is also the first Venezuelan-born player and the sixth player born outside of the United States to do so.

On the latter list are Ortiz, Albert Pujols, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, and Manny Ramirez.

Cabrera's achievement will be commemorated with a ceremony on Friday, Sept. 24 at Comerica Park. The home run was also his 2,955th career hit, putting him one step closer to his next career milestone.

He'd have to go on a tear with 36 games left in the Tigers' season to become the first player in Major League history to hit 500 home runs and 3,000 hits in the same season.

He is capable of this, now that the burden of a home run has been lifted from his shoulders.

Cabrera was signed by the Florida Marlins as an amateur free agent in 1999 and proceeded through their minor league system. At 20, he made his MLB debut in mid-2003 and helped the Marlins win the World Series later that year.

Cabrera played for the Marlins for the next four seasons before being traded to the Detroit Tigers in late 2007. Cabrera led the American League with a.330 batting average, 44 home runs, and 139 runs batted in (RBI) in 2012, winning him the AL MVP award.

Cabrera won his second AL MVP title in 2013, after improving on his previous year's batting performance with a career-high. 348 batting average. Cabrera has four American League hitting titles, including three in a row (2011–2013).

In ten different seasons, he has hit over 30 home runs, driven in over 100 runs in 12 different seasons (including 11 straight from 2004 to 2014), and has a career batting average of. 313 through 2020.

Let's now look at some of the people Cabrera is chasing down now that he has become a member of the illustrious 500 club! Since the days of Babe Ruth, the 500-homer mark has been regarded as one of baseball's most celebrated achievements.

The 500 Home Run Club remained somewhat exclusive, requiring tremendous year-to-year performance and durability amid changing unrealistic conditions as eras came and went.

Only about 30 of the almost 20,000 players who have played in the major leagues can claim to be members.

Babe Ruth

Alex Rodriguez

He also became the second player in Bronx history to smash 500 home runs, joining Mickey Mantle.

Albert Pujols

From 2001 to 2011, Pujols hit 445 home runs with the Cardinals, the most by any player in his first 11 major league seasons.

Willie Mays

Jim Thome

Source: Salem-News.com Special Features Dept.