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Phillies pay homage to ‘one of the best players to ever do it’ as Miguel Cabrera visits for final time

Miguel Cabrera is visiting Philadelphia for the final time as a player. (Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire)

Miguel Cabrera will DH and bat seventh for the Detroit Tigers Tuesday evening, as the Phillies continue a three-game interleague set that’s expected to be the future Hall of Famer’s final trip to Philadelphia.

The world is drastically different than when Cabrera first visited Philadelphia as a player in 2003, then a 20-year-old left fielder for the *Florida* Marlins. Heck, Cabrera’s had such great longevity that he’s the last active player to have played a game at Veterans Stadium.

As often is the case for legends, Cabrera is crawling to the finish as a player. The 40-year-old is slashing .202/.286/.253 with a .512 OPS in 97 at-bats this season. Even in the lowly American League Central, the Tigers are 26-32 with -69 run differential, meaning we’ve likely already seen the last of Cabrera playing in the postseason.

But make no mistake, this is one of the best hitters in MLB history. Even with some lean seasons at the end of his career, Cabrera still has a career slash line of .307/.383/.521 with 507 home runs, 3,107 hits and a 68.0 WAR, according to FanGraphs.

In terms of hardware, Cabrera has plenty of that. He’s a 12-time All-Star. He’s a seven-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He’s won four batting titles. He’s a two-time AL MVP. He won the triple crown in 2012, leading the junior circuit in batting average (.330), home runs (44) and RBIs (139). And all the way back in his rookie season of 2003, he won a World Series with the Marlins. He would go on to play in the Fall Classic two more times as a member of the Tigers.

The Phillies organization plans to honor Cabrera before Wednesday evening’s game, but those in the clubhouse — a few of whom are former teammates of his — had plenty to say Monday afternoon.

Rob Thomson: “Wow, unbelievable. [He’s] really one of the greatest right-handed hitters in the history of the game, if not the best. [When I was in] New York, we played those guys a lot. He was just, it seemed like a tough out every at-bat. He can hit for power … average … great eye, just really the complete package for a hitter.”

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Kody Clemens: “He’s an awesome guy. He’s a big teddy bear is what he is. He’s awesome … love to be around him … super funny … always has a smile on his face. It was pretty cool to be in the same lineup as him for sure.

Clemens was teammates with Cabrera during the 2022 season.

Bryce Harper: “I’ve played against him multiple times. He’s one of the best players to ever do it — 3,000 hits … 500 home runs … triple crown … sure-shot Hall of Famer. I mean, it’s been a pleasure to watch what he’s done. I think a lot of fans in this game should feel very happy and very fortunate to have watched him do what he did in his career. It’s just really cool.”

Nick Castellanos: “He was a great person to watch and emulate as I was a young kid getting my footing in the big leagues. … Don’t take it too seriously when you’re doing well, don’t take it too seriously when you’re doing badly. Sometimes I do a good job with that, sometimes I don’t. He did a fantastic job.”

Castellanos was teammates with Cabrera from 2013-2019

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Trea Turner: “I mean, [he’s] maybe one of the best right-handed hitters of all time. I got a chance to meet him at Bucky Dent’s camp down in Florida when I was a little kid. He was probably a rookie, he was probably 21 or 22 [years old]. I thought that was pretty cool.

“I was a big Marlins fan growing up, so I got a chance to watch him early on and he was such a stud from the beginning. And then to do it for as long as he has and be a good person, good teammate and all of that — I don’t know him personally, but from the outside looking, that’s what it seems like to me. It’s been a great career and I’ve enjoyed watching him hit.”

Zack Wheeler: “[His career] speaks for itself. Playing for as long as he has, that’s really difficult to do. It means you have to be really good, consistent, healthy, all the above. Then, just dedicated. He’s done that all for so long, and he’s done a lot of special things in his career. He’s won a triple crown, two MVPs — he’s been doing it at a high level for a really long time and it’s been pretty cool to watch.”

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Gregory Soto through interpreter Diego Ettedgui :

“Honestly, Miguel Cabrera is a great person, an awesome human being and a great player. I’m always going to cherish those years with the Tigers that I had with him, and even the All-Star Game that we went to together.”

Soto was teammates with Cabrera from 2019-2022. They both represented the Tigers at the 2022 All-Star Game in Los Angeles.

Josh Harrison: “[He’s] outstanding, amazing. I got to spend a little bit of time playing with him my brief season with the Tigers. But the early part of my career with the Pirates, we played them quite a bit and I got to see first hand what you call a big league professional hitter. And, in my opinion, [he’s] one of the best all-around hitters there’s been.

“For him to win a triple crown, my argument is the hits that he got, probably none of them were infield singles. He’s not legging out any diving plays in the hole that becomes an infield single. His hits were finding outfield grass.

“That’s pretty remarkable — one to win a triple crown — but to hit for that high of an average, a lot of times you think it’s a guy that can run a little bit that can leg out some infield singles here or there. So, I tip my hat off to his career. Like I said, I got to spend a little bit of time with him and he was a good teammate, funny teammate and he’s earned everything that he’s gotten.”