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Watching Miguel Cabrera play for the Detroit Tigers has been an absolute treat. There is no doubt he will go down in history as one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game, and I want to see him continue to tear the cover off the ball and hit at a higher level than everyone else around him.
Before Cabrera was a Tiger, I was a Tigers’ fan. After he is gone, I will still be a Tigers’ fan. This may sound selfish, but I’m not nearly as interested in seeing him notch consecutive triple crowns as I am in him bringing a championship or two to the Tigers. It’s time Cabrera rests up and get himself ready for another playoff run.
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Numbers don’t really support my case, but my eyes don’t deceive me. Cabrera has been in obvious pain for nearly a month, despite the fact he is still hitting doubles into the gap and depositing souvenirs in the seats. It’s becoming more and more obvious that he is interested in repeating the Triple Crown feat, but posting gaudy regular season stats won’t help the team one bit in the postseason.
I could be completely wrong. He obviously hasn’t struggled much to continue the pace he’s been on, but if you don’t think he’s pushing himself a little too far, then you haven’t been watching him play lately.
Cabrera added three RBIs against the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday with a bases-clearing double. He went 1-for-4 in the game and was able to contribute despite not being at 100 percent.
If the Tigers were playing another team with postseason aspirations, it might be different. It would be much easier for me to accept the fact that he is on the field if they were playing a key series against the Kansas City Royals or the Cleveland Indians. However, it makes absolutely no sense for them to march him out there one day after saying he suffered an injury so he can help the Tigers beat the Twins.
I could care less if Justin Verlander gets 30 wins, Austin Jackson wins Gold Gloves or Cabrera sets lofty standards. All I want is for the Tigers to win baseball games and the most important games are yet to come. I’ll never forget watching Cabrera play, but if he were to win another Triple Crown and take an injury into the postseason, I would not be happy. Cabrera knows what his team’s goal is, and chasing personal accolades is selfish.
David Fouty is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davefouty, “Like” him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google.
