Miguel Cabrera's final statistics: Where he ranks among MLB and Detroit Tigers greats
There we have it: After 21 seasons (and 16 seasons as a Detroit Tiger), Miguel Cabrera’s career has finally come to an end, as the 40-year-old slugger went 0-for-3 with a walk in his final plate appearance, then made a brief appearance at first base on Sunday afternoon at Comerica Park. Cabrera retires as one of the greatest hitters of his generation, with 12 All-Star nods, seven Silver Slugger awards, two AL MVP awards and the 2012 Triple Crown. Cabrera’s final numbers place him among baseball’s elite in a host of categories.
Here’s where he wound up in both’s MLB’s annals and Tigers’ franchise history:
Plate appearances: 23rd — 11,796
IN MLB: Cabrera’s final homestand, in which he played five of six games, pushed him past Baltimore great Brooks Robinson; injuries over the past few seasons likely cost Miggy about 750 plate appearances, which would have placed him just shy of the top 10.
'IT WAS ALL HIM': Miguel Cabrera ends legendary MLB run with tales from friends, teammates
AMONG THE TIGERS: Miggy had 8,724 as a Tiger, putting him seventh in franchise history between Sam Crawford (8,898) and Donie Bush (8,475).
At-bats: 22nd — 10,356
IN MLB: Cabrera just slid past Kansas City star George Brett (10,349) in his final weekend, but he’s still not first among Venezuelans; former Tigers coach Omar Vizquel sits in 18th with 10,586 career at-bats.
AMONG THE TIGERS: Again, Cabrera’s Detroit total (7,662) comes in at seventh, behind Crawford (7,984), though it’s Harry Heilmann (7,297) in eighth, with Bush (6,970) and Norm Cash (6,593) rounding out the top 10.
JEFF SEIDEL: Tigers did Miguel Cabrera right: Miggy Day was fit for a king
Games: 25th — 2,797
IN MLB: Cabrera slots in behind another Baltimore (and Cincinnati) great in Frank Robinson (2,808); oddly enough, there are five players — Al Kaline, Rafael Palmeiro, Harold Baines, Eddie Collins and Reggie Jackson — separated by just 14 games at Nos. 19-23.
AMONG THE TIGERS: Miggy’s in, yep, seventh, with 2,076 games in the Old English “D,” behind Crawford (2,114) and ahead of Cash (2,018).
Hits: 16th — 3,174
IN MLB: Not only did Miggy pass his ol’ pal Adrián Beltré, now in 17th at 3,166 hits, but he made a strong run at Cal Ripken Jr. (3,184) in 15th, thanks to 21 hits since the start of September.
AMONG THE TIGERS: Cabrera’s just eighth in franchise history, with 2,332 hits — but only eight players have 2,000 hits as a Tiger; Alan Trammell is next on the list at 2,365 hits, just behind (of course) Lou Whitaker at 2,369.
RBIs: 12th — 1,881
IN MLB: A big final week put Miggy ahead of Cap Anson (1,879), whose pre-National League numbers aren’t entirely counted by MLB. But Cabrera couldn’t quite catch Willie Mays at 1,903.
AMONG THE TIGERS: Just four players – Charlie Gehringer (1,427), Herry Heilmann (1,446), Al Kaline (1,582) and Ty Cobb (1,811) — have more RBIs as a Tiger than Cabrera at 1,358. He’s 96 ahead of Sam Crawford (1,262) and 158 ahead of Hank Greenberg (1,200).
Doubles: 13th — 627
IN MLB: Three doubles in Cabrera’s final series broke a tie with Hank Aaron (624), but Miggy couldn’t quite catch David Ortiz at 632 … and Beltré also has bragging rights in 11th place with 636 two-baggers.
AMONG THE TIGERS: Cabrera passed Whitaker (420) for fifth in franchise history last season, then piled on with 20 doubles to get to 444 as a Tiger — though that’s still 53 behind Heilmann (and 221 behind No. 1 Ty Cobb).
Home runs: T-25th — 511
IN MLB: Cabrera’s blast just over the new-for-this-season yellow line in right-center on Wednesday knotted him with Mel Ott, and one short of “Mr. Cub” Ernie Banks and former Tiger (from 1967-68) Eddie Mathews at 512.
AMONG THE TIGERS: The homer also tied Cabrera with Cash for No. 2 in franchise history at 373, 26 behind Al Kaline. Then again, at least Miggy got to keep his rain-delayed homer; “Mr. Tiger” lost one to a rainout early in his career.
GOING AWAY GIFTS: Every gift Miguel Cabrera received in his 2023 farewell tour of MLB cities
Total bases: 14th — 5,368
IN MLB: It’s a pair of familiar neighbors for Miggy here, as he slots in just behind Frank Robinson (5,373, so close!) and well ahead of Beltré (5,309).
AMONG THE TIGERS: Cabrera comes in at an impressive fourth in franchise history with 3,909 total bases despite, y’know, spending his first five seasons with the Marlins. He’s still 350 short of Gehringer, but 129 ahead of Heilmann.
Runs: 56th — 1,551
IN MLB: Cabrera’s first-inning run Saturday tied him with Reggie Jackson, but he finished one shy of a tie with “Sir Hugh” Duffy (1,552), who played from 1888-1906, so those numbers might be a bit fuzzy, even by MLB’s standards.
AMONG THE TIGERS: Just 10 players in franchise history have scored more than 1,000 runs, and Cabrera is well clear of that, in eighth place at 1,102, between Crawford (1,115) and Cash (1,027).
Extra-base hits: 14th — 1,155
IN MLB: Another category in which Miggy was a late mover, with three doubles and a homer in his final week to get past Beltré (1,151). It’s especially impressive considering just 17 of Miggy’s extra-base knocks were triples.
AMONG THE TIGERS: Cabrera, with 823, passed Heilmann (806) earlier this season for fourth in the franchise ranks, but the top three may be untouchable: Gehringer (904), Kaline (972) and Cobb (1,060).
Walks: 54th — 1,258
IN MLB: Cabrera actually ranks surprisingly low in this category, passing a couple of former Tigers this month: “Le Grand Orange” Rusty Staub (1,255) and Cobb (1,249).
AMONG THE TIGERS: Of course, most of Cobb’s walks came as a Tiger (1,148) and so he’s No. 2, behind Kaline (1,277). Cabrera, meanwhile, checks in at No. 7 with 936, behind Cash (1,025) and ahead of Trammell (850).
Strikeouts: 6th — 2,105
IN MLB: They’re not all positive, but you’ve got to swing a lot to hit a lot in today’s game (though the all-time leader is Reggie Jackson, at 2,597). Miggy’s the No. 1 Venezuelan, though, with 102 strikeouts more than No. 7 Andres Galarraga.
DAVE CONCEPCION: Miguel Cabrera 'is the greatest baseball player of the Venezuelan country'
AMONG THE TIGERS: Easily No. 1 in franchise history, as his 1,513 strikeouts for Detroit are 324 more than No. 2, Brandon Inge (who, we’ll note, has far fewer homers).
Multi-hit games: 17th — 897
IN MLB: Cabrera picked up his final multi-hit game on Friday night, with two doubles and a single, to break a tie with Rod Carew (896)
AMONG THE TIGERS: Cabrera’s Friday performance also broke a tie for sixth in franchise history, as he passed Trammell (652). Crawford still has a sizeable lead in fifth, at 709, and Cobb is No. 1 at 1,211.
Batting average: 91st — .306
IN MLB: This has fallen a bit since 2016, when Cabrera was hitting .321 for his career. Still, Miggy leads the seven batters with 3,000 hits and 500 homers, just ahead of Hank Aaron at .305.
AMONG THE TIGERS: Again, Cabrera’s rough 2017-23 brings him down to .304 as a Tiger, which ranks 19th, behind Jim Delahanty (.306) and ahead of John Stone (.303) — who last played in 1915 and 1938, respectively.
On-base percentage: 107th — .382
IN MLB: Cabrera’s relative lack of walks hurts him a bit here, but he still comes in just behind Dixie Walker (.383) and slightly ahead of former Yankees great Bill Dickey (.382).
AMONG THE TIGERS: Miggy’s Tigers mark of .380 lands him in the “deep cuts” section at 19th, behind Jimmy Barrett (.382 from 1901-05) and ahead of Bob Fothergill (.379 from 1922-30).
Slugging percentage: 59th — .518
IN MLB: Cabrera slots in between sluggers from two very different era — Dan Brouthers, whose .519 mark dates back to before the formation of the AL in 1901, and Jason Giambi, whose .516 mark came while he was using steroids during MLB’s PED era.
AMONG THE TIGERS: Cabrera checks in at No. 6 in franchise history, at .510, just behind Dale Alexander’s .512 and well ahead of Rudy York’s .503 mark.
Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on X (which used to be Twitter, y’know?) @theford. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Miguel Cabrera's final statistics: Where he ranks among MLB and Detroit Tigers greats
