Miguel Cabrera has reached countless milestones over the course of his 21-year MLB career, and now those moments will live on forever in a pair of shoes.
The Detroit Tigers gave Cabrera several gifts before Saturday's game against the Cleveland Guardians, which was the second-to-last of his storied career. On top of donating $24,000 to Cabrera's foundation and giving him a Comerica Park seat signed by his current teammates, the club also gifted Cabrera a pair of custom Jordan cleats.
The cleats are made out of baseballs and bases from various milestones from throughout Cabrera's career. They were unveiled by current Tigers manager AJ Hinch and former Tigers manager Jim Leyland as part of a pregame ceremony honoring Cabrera ahead of his impending retirement.
Detroit did not announce which games, specifically, the bases and balls were from, although there were certainly plenty of options to choose from given all the accomplishments Cabrera has racked up over the years.
Cabrera has played 2,076 games as a member of the Tigers since arriving in Detroit back in 2008. Prior to that, Cabrera spent the first five seasons of his MLB career with the Miami Marlins.
Over the course of his career, Cabrera has recorded 3,174 hits, 511 home runs, 627 doubles, 1,881 RBI and 1,550 runs – all of which lead all active players. The two-time MVP, 12-time All-Star, seven-time Silver Slugger and future Hall of Famer is a .307 hitter for his career, boasting a .900 OPS since debuting in 2003.
Cabrera, who is 4-for-8 two games into the last series of his career, will make his final appearance Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. ET.
Although Cabrera will retire following the conclusion of that contest, the Tigers announced Friday that the slugger would remain with the franchise as Special Assistant to the President of Baseball Operations moving forward.
More must-reads: