Detroit Tigers did Miguel Cabrera right: Miggy Day was fit for a king

Detroit Tigers fans lined both sides of the umpire’s tunnel in Comerica Park on Saturday afternoon, reaching down, trying to touch him, screaming his nickname: “Miggy! Miggy!”

Miguel Cabrera appeared like a king, strolling down a long, carpeted runway, heading toward the field.

“Miggy! Miggy!”

Cabrera reached up and gave high-fives to fans on both sides, a 40-year-old superstar still acting like a kid, loving every second of this.

Not far away, in the stands near the Tigers’ dugout, Jennifer Baunoch held up a sign shaped like a broken heart, and it summed up what many fans were thinking: “We’ll miss you Miggy.”

“We had to be here,” Baunoch, 50, of Niles, said.

To be at the Cabrera celebration as the Tigers honored the end of his brilliant career.

“He’s just been amazing for Detroit,” Baunoch said. “I mean, his loyalty to his fans and to the city, his personality, it’s everything.”

Baunoch’s daughter, Dana Penland, 25, sat in a seat holding a pair of crutches, her right ankle in a cast. Penland was involved in a horrible motorcycle accident May 11.

“We are celebrating life,” Baunoch said. “I had to bring her to one of his last games.”

What’s your Miggy story?

What does he mean to you?

Matthew Boyd, Cabrera’s teammate for nearly a decade, told his on Saturday to the crowd.

“When I showed up in 2015, as a rookie when I was traded, I walked through those clubhouse doors," Boyd said, "and you were the first guy to welcome me to the team. In a clubhouse full of superstars, you made me feel a part of it."

Boyd pointed at his teammates in the dugout, who were bunched together, trying to watch this cool scene. “Over the years, you have done the same thing over and over again,” Boyd said. “You make us feel part of something big.”

Cabrera sat a few feet away, wearing sunglasses. “I've never had a teammate that has had a bigger impact on my career than you,” Boyd said. “You inspire me to be better every single day to inspire all these guys to be the best.”

Tigers did Miggy right

Alan Trammell, the Hall of Fame Tiger, was, fittingly enough, the main speaker.

“Do you all realize how fortunate we have been to watch one of baseball's all-time greats?” Trammell asked.

Amazing, right? To see Tram talking about Miggy?

Great recognizing great.

“The statistics are simply incredible,” Trammell said. “We all know that. The good ones make it look easy.”

At that moment, beyond the left field wall, the Miggy Milestone tracker read: 511 home runs and 3,173 hits. He was one home run shy of tying for 23rd in MLB history and three extra base hits shy of tying for 13th in history.

“I wish Mr. Tiger Al Kaline was here today,” Trammell said. “Miggy and Al had a special relationship. To hear those two talking hitting would have been priceless. Al Kaline is on record saying that Miguel Cabrera is the greatest right hitter he ever saw. I'll second that.”

You want to know what was just as revealing?

Terry Francona, the Guardians manager, stood in the Cleveland dugout, watching the ceremony intently.

It was a show of pure respect.

SHAWN WINDSOR: Miguel Cabrera will retire as an all-time talent with a complex legacy

The Tigers gave Cabrera several gifts: a $24,000 donation to his charity, a pair of cleats made of baseballs and bases, and a chair from Comerica Park signed by his teammates.

Cabrera smiled like a little kid on Christmas morning.

After the ceremony, he posed for a picture with his family as George Brett, the former Kansas City Royals great, gave a video tribute on the scoreboard.

“Five years from now, I'm gonna see you in a really small, cute little town in upstate New York,” Brett said. “It's a place called Cooperstown. I don't know if you've ever been there. But I will be there five years from this year to watch you give the biggest speech of your life.”

Cabrera hugged his children, as Aaron Boone spoke on video.

“The smartest hitter that I ever had the chance to play with,” said Boone, who played with Cabrera on the 2007 Miami Marlins. “I wish you all the best in retirement.”

Cabrera will retire from playing after Sunday's game, but not from the Tigers: He will be a special assistant to president of baseball operations Scott Harris next season.

And as that was mentioned, Cabrera pointed at his teammates in the dugout in a playful way.

From the field to the front office.

It is so smart. He will impact this organization for years to come.

But the coolest part of Miggy Day? His parents — Miguel Cabrera Sr. (father) and Gregoria Cabrera (mother) — threw out first pitches to their son.

“His parents threw bullets to the plate,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said after the Tigers’ 8-0 victory. “We thought it was all natural in talent for Miggy. Work ethic and time in the cage? No. Mom and dad took care of the skill.”

He smiled.

“We've been celebrating Miggy for six months,” Hinch said. “And it’s been worth it.”

Still got it

A sold-out, sun-drenched crowd cheered wildly every time Cabrera came to bat. Thousands of them were wearing Miggy shirts, a giveaway, or Cabrera jerseys.

Video tributes played all game long, clips from some of the greatest players in history.

And every time Miggy came to the plate, the crowd roared. Everybody stood up. Cellphones were lifted, just like when he was chasing 500 homers and 3,000 hits.

It was part party, part celebration.

And Miggy turned it into his own special show. In the fourth inning, he doubled to left.

He came out of the batter’s box hard and when he got to second base, he waved to his teammates in the dugout. The Chevrolet Fountain went off and he hugged a couple of Guardians.

The crowd roared when the Miggy Milestone marker flipped to 3,174 hits.

Up in a suite, Cabrera’s father pumped his fists.

A moment later, Cabrera tagged up on a long fly ball by Kerry Carpenter — wait, is he gonna try to score — and he made it with ease, sliding safely into third. This 40-year-old man. Playing with joy and smiles and so dang smart. “A baseball savant,” Hinch called him.

Cabrera took off his helmet and the crowd stood. After he scored on Matt Vierling's triple, he went down the dugout, high-fiving teammates.

"None of that really surprises me because it's smart baseball," Hinch said. "He knows the right play to make and it's, 'will his body get there and can it stay in one piece for 24 more hours?' "

The child inside this 40-year-old superstar will play his final game Sunday.

We will see his last at-bat, his last appearance in a Tigers uniform.

JEFF SEIDEL: This moment explains why Miguel Cabrera is special and will impact Tigers for years to come

Next stop?

That little town in upstate New York.

The Hall of Fame.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers did Miguel Cabrera right: Miggy Day fit for a king