Cabrera means goatherd in Spanish and Catalan. It may refer to:

Places:

• Cabrera, Balearic Islands
• Cabrera, a town in the northeast of the Dominican Republic
• Cabrera, Cundinamarca, a town in Colombia
• Cabrera, Santander, a town in Colombia

Persons:

• Al Cabrera (1881–1964), a Spanish baseball player
• Alex Cabrera (born 1971), a Venezuelan baseball player
• Ángel Cabrera (naturalist) (1879–1960), a Spanish zoologist
• Ángel Lulio Cabrera (1908–1999), a Spanish-Argentine botanist
• Ángel Cabrera (born 1969), an Argentinian professional golfer
• Asdrubal Cabrera (born 1985), a Venezuelan baseball player
• Ben Cabrera or Benedicto Reyes Cabrera aka BenCab (born April 10, 1952), a Filipino painter
• Bernardo de Cabrera (1289–1364), an Aragonese military man and diplomat
• Blas Cabrera (born 1946), an American physicist
• Blas Cabrera Felipe (1878–1945), a Spanish physicist
• Candice "Black" Cabrera, a Reality show contestant and model
• Carlos Cabrera (born 1973), a Colombian road cyclist
• Cesar Cabrera, an Ambassador to Mauritius and Seychelles
• Conrado Cabrera (born 1967), a Cuban track cyclist
• Daniel Cabrera (born 1981), a Dominican baseball pitcher
• Delfo Cabrera (1919–1981), an Argentinian athlete, 1948 Olympic medalist
• Everth Cabrera (born 1986), a Nicaraguan baseball player
• Ezequiel Cabrera, a Venezuelan architect
• Fernando Cabrera (baseball) (born 1981), a Puerto Rican baseball pitcher
• Francisco Cabrera (baseball), a Dominican Major League Baseball player
• Freddy Cabrera Colombian College Football player
• Guillermo Cabrera Infante, a Cuban author
• Jolbert Cabrera (born 1972), a Colombian baseball player
• José Cabrera (baseball), a Dominican baseball player
• José Antonio Cabrera, an Argentine statesman
• José Ramón Balaguer Cabrera, a Cuban politician
• Francisco Cabrera (cyclist), a Chilean track and road cyclist
• Lydia Cabrera (1899–1991), a Cuban anthropologist and poet
• Luis Cabrera Lobato (1876–1954), a Mexican lawyer, politician and writer
• María Luisa Cabrera (1904–1989), a Mexican artist
• Manuel Estrada Cabrera (1857–1923), the President of Guatemala from 1898 to 1920
• Mariangel Cabrera, an attractive famous Argentine Dancer
• Martin Cabrera, Jr., the head of Cabrera Capital Markets
• Melky Cabrera (born 1984), a Dominican baseball player
• Miguel Cabrera (painter) (1695–1768), a Mexican painter
• Miguel Cabrera (born 1983), a Venezuelan baseball player
• Nicolás Cabrera (1913–1989), a Spanish physicist
• Orlando Cabrera (born 1974), a Colombian baseball player
• Pedro Cabrera (1938–2002), a Cuban actor
• Pedro García Cabrera (1905–1981), a Spanish writer
• Ramón Cabrera (1806–1877), a Spanish Carlist military officer
• Ryan Cabrera (born 1982), an American pop-rock musician
• Salvador Cabrera, a Filipino painter, elder brother of Ben Cabrera
• Santiago Cabrera, a Chilean actor
• Daniel M Cabrera Vilarino, an ex futbolista-ex soccer player
• Dan Mari Cabrera(1996), filipino youtube sensation

Other:

• House of Cabrera, Counts of Urgell between 1236 and 1314
• José Cabrera Nuclear Power Station, a nuclear power station in Almonacid de Zorita, near Madrid, Spain

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Miguel Cabrera
Cabrera in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in June 2011.
Detroit Tigers – No. 24
Third Baseman / First Baseman
Born: (1983-04-18) April 18, 1983 (age 29) Maracay, Venezuela
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 20, 2003 for the Florida Marlins
Career statistics (through May 27, 2012)
Batting average	.317
Hits	1,656
Home runs	286
Runs batted in	1,024
On base percentage	.394
Slugging percentage	.554
Teams
Florida Marlins (2003–2007) Detroit Tigers (2008–present)
Career highlights and awards
3× Silver Slugger Award Winner (2005, 2006, 2010) 6× All-Star (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011) World Series Champion (2003) AL Home Run Champion (2008) AL RBI Champion (2010) AL Batting Champion (2011) 2× Luis Aparicio Award Winner (2005, 2011)

José Miguel Cabrera Torres (born April 18, 1983) commonly known as Miguel Cabrera, and nicknamed "Miggy", or "Cabby", is a Venezuelan professional baseball third baseman with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He bats and throws right-handed.

He is a six-time All-Star, having been selected to the National League All-Star Team in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007, and also the American League All-Star Team in 2010 and 2011. Cabrera has started at least 100 games at first base, third base, left field and right field.^[1] He progressed through the Florida Marlins minor-league system, before being called up from the Double-A Carolina Mudcats in June 2003. Cabrera went on to provide boost needed to help the Florida Marlins win the World Series that year as their clean-up hitter.

Cabrera is widely considered to be one of the best pure hitters in baseball, hitting at a high average with power to all fields. He has posted at least 30 home runs in seven of his previous eight seasons while batting .320 during that period. Cabrera has also driven in over 100 runs every season aside from his rookie campaign when he played in only 87 games. He has been an MVP caliber player since entering the majors at just 20 years old, having received MVP votes in each of his nine major league seasons, and placing in the top five in the previous three. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim starting pitcher Dan Haren is quoted saying, "You're going to make good pitches, and [Cabrera] is going to hit them."

Early life[link]

Cabrera was born on April 18, 1983 in Maracay, Aragua State, Venezuela to parents Miguel and Gregoria.

Minor leagues[link]

Miguel began to rise through the Marlins' farm system teaming with future major leaguers Adrian Gonzalez and Dontrelle Willis. He began his professional career as a six-foot-two-inch 185 pound shortstop in the Gulf Coast League. Although he had below average speed, he had a rocket arm, above average plate discipline, and a thorough knowledge of the game. After batting .260 with 10 doubles, 2 triples and 2 home runs through 57 games, Cabrera was promoted to Class-A ball where he finished the final 8 games batting .250 with 6 RBIs.

Heading into 2001, the Marlins bumped Cabrera up to the Low Class-A Kane County Cougars where he teamed up with current Boston Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. He got off to a rocky start to begin the season, but was able to improve his average to .279 by mid-season, and earned his way into the Futures Game during All-Star Weekend in Seattle, along with Gonzalez. Fighting a sore lower back, Cabrera went hitless in the showing. He ended the year batting .268 with 30 extra-base hits, 66 RBIs, and distinguished himself as having the strongest arm in the Midwest League.

Entering the following season, Cabrera was once again promoted; this time to the Jupiter Hammerheads of the High Class-A Florida State League. At the request of then Marlins assistant manager, Ozzie Guillen, Cabrera made the transition from shortstop to third base. Willing to do whatever it took to reach the major leagues, Cabrera displayed no resistance to the move. While it took some time to make himself comfortable at his new position, he showed no slowing in the batter's box. By July, his average was locked in at .277, and he led his team with 45 RBIs earning himself a second trip to the Future's game; this time picking up two singles. He didn't lose his stride as he finished the season batting .278 with 43 doubles and 75 RBIs. Up to this point, his power had yet to reveal itself as he hit just 9 homers in his 489 at-bats.

To begin the 2003 season, Cabrera earned another promotion to the Double-A Carolina Mudcats. There he teamed up with Dontrelle Willis, the left-handed fireballer with whom he would later join in the majors. In his fourth professional season, Miguel was shredding up the competition. In April, he hit .402, and by June his average stood at .365 with 10 homers and 59 RBIs before being called up to the majors.

Major league career[link]

Florida Marlins[link]

2003: Rookie year[link]

Cabrera made his major league debut on June 20, 2003, at 20 years old; Edgar Rentería, at 19 years old, was the only Marlins player to make his debut at a younger age. Cabrera hit a walk-off home run in his first major league game, following Billy Parker in 1972 and Josh Bard in 2002 as the third player since 1900 to hit a game-winning home run in his big-league debut.

Cabrera became the Marlins' cleanup batter. Cabrera's postseason play helped propel Florida to a World Series championship over the Yankees and also landed him on the cover of ESPN The Magazine during the offseason.

In the NLDS against the Giants, Cabrera hit .286 with three RBI. After changing positions in the heat of the NLCS against the Cubs, he hit .333 with three homers and six RBI. In the World Series, Cabrera had the at bat that defined his postseason in Game Four. Facing Roger Clemens for the first time, Cabrera, who was only 20 years old at the time, got knocked down by a Roger Clemens inside fastball. Two pitches later, he belted the Clemens offering into the right field seats.

In his first season Cabrera batted .268 (84-for-314), with 12 Home Runs, 62 RBI, 39 runs, 21 doubles, and three triples in 87 games played.

2004[link]

In 2004, he proved that his rookie season was no fluke, batting .294 with 33 homers, 112 RBI, 101 runs, 177 hits, a .366 on base percentage, a .512 slugging percentage from the third and fourth spots in the order, while playing in 160 games and earning his first All-Star appearance.

Cabrera spent the whole 2004 season playing in the outfield, with no games at third base; he had 13 outfield assists. In 284 total fielding chances, he committed 9 errors (tied for the most among NL outfielders)^[2] and made 262 putouts.

2005[link]

In 2005 he came in second in the National League in hits with 198, and batted .323 with 33 homers, 43 doubles, 2 triples, and 116 RBIs. He was chosen to his second consecutive All-Star Game along with teammates Paul LoDuca and Dontrelle Willis, and won his first Silver Slugger award. His 33 home runs made him the youngest player in Major League Baseball history to hit back-to-back 30 homer seasons, at 22 years, 143 days. Albert Pujols of the Cardinals did it at 22 years, 223 days. Cabrera also became the first Florida Marlin in history to hit at least 30 home runs and bat in at least 100 runs in back-to-back seasons.

During the 2005 season, Carlos Delgado hit behind Cabrera. The Marlins traded Delgado to the New York Mets after the season as part of their organizationally-termed "market correction," obtaining first baseman Mike Jacobs, pitcher Yusmeiro Petit, and infielder Grant Psomas from the Mets.

2006[link]

With help from teammates Josh Willingham and Dan Uggla hitting behind and ahead of him respectively, Cabrera finished the year with a career-high .339 batting average, 26 home runs and 114 RBIs. He was selected to his third consecutive All-Star Game and won his second Silver Slugger.

On June 22, 2006, In what will go down as one of the most unique plays in baseball (as there are no records of it occurring before or since), pitcher Todd Williams let the first pitch of an attempted intentional walk get a little too close to the plate and Cabrera reached out and singled it to right center field. The hit occurred during 10th inning, scoring the winning run to give the Marlins a 6-5 lead over the Baltimore Orioles.^[3]

During a July 9 7–6 road loss to the Mets, Cabrera became involved in an altercation with teammate Scott Olsen. With the Marlins trailing 2–0, Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca hit a hard grounder that glanced off Cabrera's glove and rolled into left field, allowing a run to score as Lo Duca raced to second with a double. While the ball glanced off Cabrera's glove, Olsen seemed to believe that Cabrera did not give his full effort to get to the ball. As they came off the field, Olsen could be seen shouting something at Cabrera. A moment later, television cameras showed Cabrera in the crowded dugout reaching past teammates to poke his finger at Olsen as the pitcher walked past him. Olsen tried to jab back at Cabrera, who charged Olsen and tried to kick the pitcher before both players were quickly separated by teammates.^[4]

Cabrera battled the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Freddy Sanchez for the National League batting crown until the last day of the regular season. Marlins manager Joe Girardi decided to bat Cabrera leadoff for the final game of the season to give him more chances to get a hit for the crown. He ended up finishing second to Sanchez. Cabrera also finished the 2006 campaign with a career-high .568 slugging percentage and a career-high .430 on base percentage.

2007[link]

Cabrera with the Marlins in 2007

On February 17, 2007, Cabrera became the first player of the 2007 offseason to win his arbitration hearing, obtaining a one-year contract worth $7.4 million.^[5]

Cabrera made his fourth consecutive All-Star game. He was initially scheduled to participate in the Home Run Derby during the All-Star weekend, but an injured left shoulder, suffered a few days before the All-Star break, forced him out of the derby and limited him in the All-Star game to a pinch hit at-bat against Dan Haren in which he struck out.

On September 4, 2007, Cabrera batted in his 500th run as a major leaguer, making him the third-youngest player to accumulate 500 RBI. Hall of Famers Mel Ott and Ted Williams were the only players to precede him in this feat.^[6]

On September 15, 2007, at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, Cabrera drove in at least 100 runs for the fourth consecutive year. His 100th RBI came in the first inning against Ubaldo Jimenez. Five innings later, Cabrera added four more RBI when he hit a ball 438 feet (134 m) into the center field trees for his first career grand slam.^[7] He joined David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, Mark Teixeira and Vladimir Guerrero as the only players to reach the 100-RBI plateau in each of the four previous seasons.^[8]

In 2007, Cabrera won the NL Player of the Week twice (April 1–8 and June 4–10). He also passed former Marlins Gary Sheffield and Derrek Lee for second on the franchise home run list. He moved into third in all-time franchise RBI and first in batting average. Cabrera ended the season with career highs in both home runs and runs batted in.

Detroit Tigers[link]

On December 5, 2007, the Marlins traded Cabrera and starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis to the Detroit Tigers for pitchers Andrew Miller, Dallas Trahern, Eulogio De La Cruz and Burke Badenhop, outfielder Cameron Maybin, and catcher Mike Rabelo.^[9]

On March 22, 2008 Cabrera reached an agreement with the Tigers on an eight-year, $185.3 million contract extension. At the time, the deal was the fourth-largest in baseball history, behind those signed by Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Manny Ramirez.^[10] The deal is also the 2nd largest in Tigers history, surpassing the five-year, $75 million contract signed by Magglio Ordóñez in 2005, but less than the 9 year $214 million dollar deal signed by Prince Fielder. Cabrera earned $11.3 million in 2008, and will receive an average of $20 million per year through 2015.

2008[link]

Cabrera playing for the Tigers in 2009.

Cabrera made his Tigers debut on March 31, 2008, playing third base in a home game against the Kansas City Royals. In his third at-bat, he hit a solo home run off Royals pitcher Gil Meche. He finished the game 1-for-5 with two strikeouts, and the Tigers lost 5–4 in 11 innings.^[11]

On April 22, manager Jim Leyland announced that Cabrera would be moving to first base, with Carlos Guillen becoming the starting second basemen, and Brandon Inge going back to third. Cabrera had already made seven appearances at first, the first appearances at the position of his career.^[12]

Cabrera was named the AL Player of the Month for July after batting .330 with 8 home runs and 31 RBI.^[13]

On September 7, Cabrera reached the 1,000-hit plateau on a home run off Twins pitcher Glen Perkins.^[14]

Cabrera finished the 2008 season with a career-high 37 home runs, which led the American League.^[15] He became the youngest AL home run champion since Troy Glaus in 2000.^[16] He also established a new career high in RBI (127).^[17] He became one of only five players who have driven in at least 100 runs in each the past five seasons, joining Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, David Ortiz, Bobby Abreu and Mark Teixeira.

2009[link]

Cabrera was selected to play for Venezuela at the 2009 World Baseball Classic, along with Tigers teammates Magglio Ordóñez, Carlos Guillén, and Armando Galarraga.

On Opening Day, Cabrera hit a grand slam in left-center that traveled better than 420 feet (130 m) at Comerica Park to give the Detroit Tigers a convincing 15–2 victory over the Texas Rangers. Cabrera finished the game 4 for 6 with 6 RBI.

On August 23, 2009 Cabrera hit his 200th career home run in his 1,000th career game against the Oakland A's. He became only the 4th Venezuelan player to ever reach that plateau.

Cabrera posted a .324 batting average, which was 4th in the AL. He also tied his career-high in hits with 198, which was also 4th among the AL. He also had yet another 100+ RBI season making it the 6th straight year for him to reach the 100 RBI mark.

2010[link]

On May 28 in a game against the Oakland Athletics in Detroit, Cabrera hit three home runs in a 5–4 Tigers loss. Two of the home runs were against starter Ben Sheets, and one against closer Andrew Bailey. It was the first three home run game in Cabrera's career, and came in his first game returning to the team after his daughter's birth.

Cabrera was named an AL All-Star for the first time since joining the American League, and the 5th time in his seven year career. He was chosen to be the starter in place of Minnesota Twins star Justin Morneau who was suffering a concussion

On September 26 in a game against the Cleveland Indians Cabrera suffered a high ankle sprain while getting back to first base on a pick-off attempt. He initially tried to play, but the Tigers decided to shut him down for the remainder of the season. He ended his 2010 season with a .328 batting average, a career-high 38 HRs and 126 RBIs. The lack of a strong #5 hitter to follow Cabrera in the Tigers lineup also resulted in him drawing a career-high 89 walks, 32 of which were intentional. On defense, he led all AL first basemen in errors, with 13.^[18]

2011[link]

Cabrera was named to his second AL All-Star team as a reserve. It was his sixth All-Star Game appearance overall. On July 15, 2011, the first game after the All-Star break, Cabrera collected his 1500th career hit in a game against the Chicago White Sox.^[19] Cabrera hit for a .344 average, winning the AL batting title, while also leading the AL in on-base percentage (.448) and doubles (48). He had his eighth straight 100-RBI season (105) and fifth straight 30-HR season (30). Despite having better lineup protection than in years past (with Víctor Martínez hitting behind him), he reached a career-high in walks with 108. On defense, Cabrera led all AL first basemen in errors, with 13.^[18]

Cabrera hit .429 with 6 home runs and 21 RBI in September 2011, propelling the Tigers into the playoffs and eventually the American League Championship Series. In the first five games of the ALCS, Cabrera managed an incredible .565 OBP, as well as a home run and four doubles, one of them off of the third base bag.

Through 2011, he had the 6th-best career batting average of all active players (.317), and 7th-best slugging percentage (.555) and OPS (.950).^[20]

2012[link]

In 2012, after the signing of first baseman Prince Fielder, the Tigers announced Cabrera will move back to third base.^[21] In a pre-season game with the Philadelphia Phillies, Cabrera was struck by a ground ball below the right eye, which broke a bone. Despite this, after seeing team eye surgeon, Dr. Srinivas Iyengar, Cabrera believed he would be ready for opening day on April 5.[4] He was, and was in the starting lineup on Opening Day.

On April 7, both he and new teammate Prince Fielder hit 2 home runs against the Red Sox, including back-to-back ones in the 5th inning. Cabrera's first home run was a 2-run home run, while his second one was called a double initially, but was overturned and became a home run. The Tigers went on to win 10–0.^[22]

That week, from April 4–8, Cabrera was named AL Player of the Week, his ninth time achieving that honor, five of them being with Detroit. Cabrera hit 5-11 in 3 games over that span with 3 home runs and 8 RBI. At the time, his 14 total bases were tied for best in the MLB.^[23]

On April 27, Cabrera collected his 1,000th RBI against the New York Yankees. He is one of the few players in league history to reach this plateau before their 30th birthday, joining the likes of Hank Aaron, Albert Pujols, and Lou Gehrig.

Personal life[link]

Cabrera is both a Catholic and a practitioner of Santería. He became a babalao in the 2006 offseason.^[24] His wife is named Rosangel, and they have 2 daughters and 1 son, born August 2011.^[25] Cabrera and his family currently live in Birmingham, Michigan.^[26]

In the early morning of October 3, 2009, police were called to the Cabreras' home and took Cabrera in for questioning. Cabrera had come home at 6:00am, after a night of drinking at the nearby Townsend Hotel, and got in an argument with his wife. He was seen later that day at a game at Comerica Park, with scratches on his face. Cabrera told reporters that the scratches came from his dog and refused to discuss the matter further.^[27] It was later reported he had a blood alcohol level of .26, three times the legal limit, when tested at the police station. Dave Dombrowski, the general manager of the Tigers, picked him up from the police station around 7:30am—eleven and a half hours before that evening's game in which he went 0–4 with one strikeout and six runners left on base against the Chicago White Sox.^[28]

On January 21, 2010, it was reported that Cabrera spent three months in an alcohol abuse treatment center to help him recover from his addiction. He said at the time he had not drunk alcohol since he was taken into custody in October, 2009, and that he would continue his treatment into spring training and the regular season.^[29]

Television station WXYZ had obtained a police report from an alleged incident the preceding August, in which Cabrera was involved in a verbal altercation with diners at a restaurant inside the Townsend.^[30] Witnesses say Cabrera threatened to fight the group outside and indicated that he had a gun. Restaurant employees asked Cabrera to leave and police were called. There was no weapon in Cabrera's vehicle and Cabrera told team officials he did not own one. Cabrera then told team officials he had been dealing with personal issues and got upset, and the diners ended up dropping the matter.^[31]

Cabrera was arrested in Florida on suspicion for drunk driving and resisting arrest on February 16, 2011.^[32]

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Baseball portal

• List of Major League Baseball home run champions
• 2003 World Series
• Tigres de Aragua
• List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Miguel Cabrera

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Miguel Cabrera: Profile on the Fish@Bat Florida Marlins Wiki
• uniform number updates

Melky Cabrera
San Francisco Giants – No. 53
Outfielder
Born: (1984-08-11) August 11, 1984 (age 27) Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Bats: Switch	Throws: Left
MLB debut
July 7, 2005 for the New York Yankees
Career statistics (through May 30, 2012)
Batting average	.281
Home runs	62
Runs batted in	382
Hits	913
Stolen bases	80
Teams
New York Yankees (2005–2009) Atlanta Braves (2010) Kansas City Royals (2011) San Francisco Giants (2012–present)
Career highlights and awards
Hit for the cycle on August 2, 2009 2009 Major League Baseball Clutch Performer of the Month of May 2009 World Series champion

Melky Astacio Cabrera (born August 11, 1984) is a Dominican professional baseball player. An outfielder, he currently plays for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball.

Baseball career[link]

New York Yankees (2002–2009)[link]

Minors[link]

Cabrera was signed by the New York Yankees on November 14, 2001, at age 17. In 2002, at age 18, he made his professional debut with the Yankees Rookie League affiliate in the Dominican Summer League.

He made his first minor league appearance with the Rookie-Advanced team in the NY Penn League with the Staten Island Yankees in 2003, batting .283 with 31 RBIs in 67 games. In 2004, he moved up to Class A with the Battle Creek Yankees, hitting .333 with 16 RBI in 42 games before being promoted to the high Class A Tampa Yankees, where he hit .288 with 51 RBI in 85 games to finish the season.

2005 - Major League debut[link]

In 2005, Cabrera started off with the Class AA Trenton Thunder, hitting .275 with 60 RBIs in 106 games. At the end of June, he was called up to the Class AAA Columbus Clippers. On July 7, Cabrera made his major league debut in center field at Yankee Stadium against the Cleveland Indians.^[1] His first at bat against Kevin Millwood resulted in a strikeout. He collected his first major league hit, a single, to left field, in his third at bat to a standing ovation.^[2] The next day, he went 2-for-3 against Cleveland Indians pitcher Cliff Lee, scoring his first major league run. Cabrera would go 0-for-his next 13 and make a costly miscue in center on July 15 against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, misplaying a Trot Nixon fly ball that resulted in an inside-the-park homer during a 17–1 defeat. He was sent down to Class AAA Columbus the next day for 17 games, and then demoted back to Class AA Trenton Thunder to finish out the season.

2006[link]

Cabrera bunting in 2007.

Cabrera saw a lot of time in spring training of 2006 with starting outfielders Johnny Damon and Bernie Williams playing in the World Baseball Classic.^{[citation needed]} He impressed the Yankees by hitting .349 in 16 games, however, he was ultimately sent to Class AAA Columbus at the start of the season.

He had a strong start to the season, hitting .385 with 4 home runs and 24 RBI in just 31 games before being called up on May 9 after left fielder Hideki Matsui broke his wrist and landed on the disabled list until September 12. Cabrera stepped in at left field and hitting .318 in May with his first 10 career RBI and two career stolen bases. On May 30, batting leadoff for just the second time in his career, he recorded his first career 4-hit game, going 4-for-6, missing the cycle by a homer.^[3] In June, he fell into a slump, although he hit his first major league home run on June 15.^[4] On June 6, in the 8th inning of a 2–1 game against the Red Sox, Melky made an outstanding catch in left-center, (which became known as "The Melky Catch") leaping over the wall to steal a home run from Boston's Manny Ramírez. After the catch, Johnny Damon cheered and danced in the outfield.^[5] This play earned Melky a "This Year In Baseball" Award (voted on by the fans) for the most outstanding play of the 2006 season. In July, Melky heated up again, hitting .313 with 14 RBI. Highlights of the month included his first career 5-RBI game on July 5, with his first career grand slam against Paul Byrd to break a tie score.^[6] On July 18, Melky hit his first career walk-off home run, a line shot in the bottom of the 11th against the Seattle Mariners to give the Yankees a 5–4 win.^[7] He finished the 2006 season tied for second in the league with 12 outfield assists.

2007[link]

Cabrera was given the role of fourth outfielder at the beginning of the 2007 season. He struggled, batting just .200 in April and .254 in May in limited playing time. He was batting .223 on the season when Jason Giambi went on the disabled list on June 1. Giambi's placement on the DL, however, gave Cabrera more playing time. Johnny Damon was moved to Giambi's role of designated hitter and Cabrera took Damon's spot in center field. Since then, Cabrera hit .320 with 3 of his 5 home runs and 21 of his 36 RBI. He also had a then career high 13-game hitting streak going from July 1–17. While Bobby Abreu was struggling in July, Cabrera batted second so that Derek Jeter could move to third in the lineup. He cemented himself as the Yankees' starting center fielder, causing Giambi to compete with at bats at DH since he returned from the DL. His career-high hitting streak of 19 games ended in a 2-hit whipping by the Baltimore Orioles when the Orioles outscored the Yankees 12–0. However, he continued to get on base with a walk. Prior to the July 31 trade deadline, the Texas Rangers' offered Yankees GM Brian Cashman their closer, Eric Gagné, in exchange for Cabrera. Cashman refused this proposal, showing how valuable he thought Cabrera was to the Yankees. Gagne would later be traded to the Yankees arch rival, the Boston Red Sox, who would go on to win the World Series that year.^[8]

In 2007, Cabrera was fourth in the American League in sacrifice flies (9), fifth in sacrifice hits (10), sixth in triples (8), and tied for third in outfield assists (16).

Cabrera became the second youngest Yankee ever to hit a walk-off home run when he did so on June 15, 2007; the youngest Yankee to do so was Mickey Mantle. On July 7, 2007, Cabrera tied a Yankees record by striking out five times in a single 13-inning game, a feat known as the platinum sombrero.

2008[link]

Cabrera with the Yankees in 2009.

Before the 2008 season began, Cabrera was involved in trade talks along with young pitching prospects Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes in exchange for starting pitcher Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins. (The New York Mets eventually acquired Santana.) Cabrera was involved in a bench-clearing brawl against the Tampa Bay Rays in a 2008 spring training pre-season game. MLB claimed to have seen video that showed Cabrera punching Rays third baseman Evan Longoria during the brawl. Cabrera was suspended two games, along with teammate Shelley Duncan, and third base coach Bobby Meacham and hitting coach Kevin Long were also fined for their actions in the brawl.

In 2008, Cabrera proved to be a less-than-adequate center fielder for the Yankees. His fielding and great arm could not make up for his poor hitting. In early August, Joe Girardi made Cabrera their fourth outfielder, making Johnny Damon the everyday center fielder. On August 15, 2008, the Yankees sent Cabrera back to their Class AAA affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

He was called up again to play on September 5, 2008.

2009[link]

During Spring Training 2009, Cabrera changed his uniform number from #28 to #53, the same number he wore when he played in the Winter Leagues; Bobby Abreu, who had played for the Yankees from mid-2006 to 2008, had previously worn # 53. Cabrera competed with Brett Gardner for the starting center field job; Gardner won the job, but Joe Girardi announced his intention to use Cabrera as a backup.^[9] On April 22, 2009, Cabrera hit the first walk-off hit in the new Yankee Stadium, a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 14th inning, to help the Yankees win 9–7. By late April, due to Brett Gardner slumping, plus his own streak of stellar play, Cabrera retook the starting center field position. On May 15, he hit a walk-off single to win the game 5–4. On May 23, Melky had another walk-off hit, this time a single driving in Robinson Cano after Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run home run to tie the game. Melky played right field that day. On May 27, as Melky attempted to catch a deep fly ball, he collided with the center field wall in Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, which is the home of the Texas Rangers. He injured his shoulder and was listed as day-to-day.^[10] On June 4, Melky hit a 2 run home run in the bottom of the eighth to break a 6–6 tie and it was eventually the winning hit. On June 9 it was announced that he had won the Major League Baseball Clutch Performer of the Month of May.

Cabrera playing for the Braves in 2010.

On August 2, 2009, Cabrera became the first Yankee to hit for the cycle since Tony Fernandez did it on September 3, 1995. The home run was his 10th of the season, which set a new personal high. He also collected his 200th career RBI in the game.^[11] Cabrera finished the season by playing in his first World Series with the Yankees and helping them defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2009 World Series.

Atlanta Braves (2010)[link]

On December 22, 2009, Cabrera was traded to the Atlanta Braves with Mike Dunn and pitching prospect Arodys Vizcaino for Javier Vázquez and Boone Logan. Cabrera signed a one year deal with the Braves avoiding arbitration.^[12]

On October 19, 2010, Cabrera was released by the Atlanta Braves.^[13]

Kansas City Royals (2011)[link]

On December 9, 2010, Cabrera signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract with the Kansas City Royals.^[14] As of August 31, Cabrera was having his best season as a professional batting .302 with 17 home runs, 78 RBIs and 17 stolen bases.^[15] On July 29, Cabrera hit the Royals' first grand slam of the season. In his breakout 2011 season, Cabrera set career highs in RBIs (87), runs scored (102), stolen bases (20), home runs (18), and batting average (.305), while also finishing 4th in the American League in hits, with 201. ^[16]

San Francisco Giants (2012)[link]

On November 7, 2011, Cabrera was traded to the San Francisco Giants for left-handed pitcher Jonathan Sánchez and minor league pitcher Ryan Verdugo.^[17] On May 29, 2012, Cabrera surpassed Willie Mays for most hits in the month of May in San Francisco Giants history with 50. The next night, Cabrera tied Randy Winn's San Francisco record for most hits in any month with 51.^[18]

Personal life[link]

His best friend is New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano. Cabrera has one son.

Cabrera's nickname around the Yankee clubhouse was "Leche," which is Spanish for "milk."^[19] When Cabrera recorded an RBI or made a flashy defensive play, the Yankee Stadium baseline scoreboards flashed "Tiene Leche?" ("Got Milk?")

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Melky Cabrera

	Biography portal
	Baseball portal

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Baseball America 2006 Prospect Handbook : The Comprehensive Guide to Rising Stars from the Definitive Source on Prospects. Baseball America. 193239110X. 
• Yankees promote prospect Cabrera
• Future's Now for an Heir Apparent
• Redding, Yanks roughed up by Sox
• New York Yankees transactions, July 2005

Dan Dickerson (born 1958) is an American sportscaster, best known for his current position as the lead radio play-by-play voice of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers on the Detroit Tigers Radio Network,^[1] joined by color commentator and former Tigers catcher Jim Price.

Early life and education[link]

Dickerson grew up in Birmingham, Michigan and attended Cranbrook School, graduating in 1976. He then attended Ohio Wesleyan University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Early career[link]

He began his radio career at WMAX in Grand Rapids, Michigan as a news anchor and reporter. He also covered high-school football and basketball. He moved to competitor WCUZ in 1982, where he would cover sports for the next six years. Dickerson moved to Detroit in 1988 and WWJ, where he served as a general assignment news reporter and weekend news and sports anchor. He also hosted the post-game call-in show for the station's Detroit Lions broadcasts.

In 1995, Dickerson moved to crosstown competitor WJR, where he held a variety of positions. He was co-host of a weeknight sports call-in show; morning sports anchor; sideline reporter and fill-in play-by-play announcer for Michigan Wolverines football; and play-by-play announcer for Michigan basketball for two seasons. While visiting with legendary Tigers announcer Ernie Harwell in the WJR booth during the final game at Tiger Stadium in 1999, Dickerson was invited by Harwell to call an inning of play-by-play.^[2] The following season, he joined the Tigers' radio broadcast team full-time, calling the middle innings of each game while Harwell handled the rest. Along with former Tiger catcher and analyst Jim Price, this team remained intact for three full seasons, even as the team switched radio flagship stations (from WJR to WXYT) at the end of the 2000 season.

Current roles[link]

Dickerson took over as lead play-by-play announcer on Tigers radio after Harwell retired at the end of the 2002 season, leaving him and Price as a two-man crew.

Dickerson has called several events for Fox Sports Detroit television, including high school football since 2002, a Michigan State Spartans hockey game in 2008, and Detroit Titans basketball games in 2010 and 2011.

Dickerson is a longtime member of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association, founded in 1948 by pioneering Tigers announcer Ty Tyson. Dan was honored by the DSBA in 2009 with the Tyson Award for Excellence in Sports Broadcasting.

Dickerson also appears as the Detroit Tigers correspondent on MLB Network's weekday afternoon baseball news show The Rundown.

Running injury[link]

Dickerson tripped on a curb while jogging outside the Detroit Tigers team hotel in Kansas City, Missouri on May 26, 2009. His fall ruptured a tendon in his leg and he was rescued by Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge, who saw Dickerson lying on the ground from outside his hotel room window. It was later announced that Dickerson would miss multiple games and return to Michigan for surgery. Tigers manager Jim Leyland stated that he "felt terrible" about Dickerson's situation, and that he wished him well.^[3] John Keating filled in for the remainder of the Kansas City series, and Al Kaline did the Baltimore series. Dickerson returned for the Boston series in Detroit the following week.

Misc info[link]

Dickerson holds some renown as a charter member of one of the country's oldest rotisserie baseball leagues: The Duckball League of Michigan. Dickerson joined Duckball when the league was formed in 1985 and (finally) won a championship in 2004.

Personal[link]

Dickerson lives in Clarkston, Michigan with his wife and two children.

Play-by-play highlights[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009)

On August 5, 2006 Dickerson called Ivan Rodriguez's walkoff home run against the Cleveland Indians with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Many Detroit sports commentators declared it as Dickerson's best call as a Tigers broadcaster. It was replayed numerous times on Tigers commercials on WXYT.

"First pitch to Pudge, fly ball, deep to left, into the night... GOODBYE! Two run shot, Tigers win! Oh man! Pudge Rodriguez with two outs delivers. Into a mob scene at home. 4-3 Tigers win!"

On October 14, 2006, Magglio Ordóñez hit a walkoff home run in Game 4 of the ALCS, making the Tigers the American League champions for the first time since 1984. Here's the way Dan Dickerson described the final moments of the game to the radio audience:

"Swing and a fly ball, left field, it's deep, IT'S WAY BACK ... THE TIGERS ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!! Three-run, walkoff home run! OHHHHH MAN! Ordonez around third, he's into a mob scene at (sob) home! The Tigers have beaten the A's, 6-3, completing a four-game sweep in one of the greatest turnarounds in baseball history! The Tigers, three years after losing 119 games, are going to the World Series! Magglio Ordonez with his second home run of the game. What a sight at home plate!"^[4]

On June 12, 2007, Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander threw the sixth no-hitter in franchise history against the Milwaukee Brewers, and Dickerson called the final out this way:

"The 0-2 pitch -- swing and a high fly ball to right -- Ordonez going back -- he's got room ... HE MAKES THE CATCH -- Justin Verlander has just thrown the sixth no-hitter in the 107-year history of the Detroit Tigers."^[5]

On September 3, 2011, the Tigers completed a rally from an 8-1 deficit against the Chicago White Sox, the second largest in Comerica Park history^[6] with home runs in the bottom of the 9th inning, a two-run home run from Ryan Raburn to tie the game and another one of walk-off variety from Miguel Cabrera to win the game 9-8. Dickerson animatedly described Cabrera's home run this way:

"Cabrera against Santos, first pitch. Swing AND A FLY BALL, LEFT FIELD, WAY BAAACK ... GONE!! MIGUEL CABRERA WALK-OFF WINNER! And the Tigers come from seven runs down to beat the White Sox 9-8 with three in bottom of the 9th!! Raburn with a two-run shot, Cabrera into the mob scene at home, delivers the winner. HOW 'BOUT IT?!"^[7]

Quirks and signature calls[link]

Dickerson stated he once accidentally said "Long gone!" following a home run and was mortified that he had done so, since he did not want to be perceived as copying the famous home run call of longtime Tigers' announcer Ernie Harwell. So he modified that to the current "Way back.... and gone!" ^[8]

References[link]

1. ^ Detroit Tigers Official Site - Broadcaster Biographies - Dan Dickerson
2. ^ Kornacki, Steve (2010-05-05). "Tigers radio voice Dan Dickerson recalls his first inning with Ernie Harwell at Tiger Stadium". mlive.com. http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2010/05/tigers_radio_voice_dan_dickers.html. 
3. ^ Dickerson returning home for surgery - Tigers broadcaster might return for next homestand
4. ^ "How They Called It" (October 15, 2006) Detroit News.
5. ^ "How Radio and TV called Verlander's no-hitter" (June 13, 2007) Detroit Free Press.
6. ^ Elias Sports Bureau. "ESPN - Elias Says: Sports Statistics - Stats from the Elias Sports Bureau - ESPN". ESPN Website. ESPN. http://espn.go.com/espn/elias. Retrieved 4 September 2011. 
7. ^ Beck, Jason. "Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers - September 3, 2011 | MLB.com DET Recap:". MLB.com. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_09_03_chamlb_detmlb_1&mode=recap_home&c_id=det. Retrieved 4 September 2011. 
8. ^ "Interviewing Dan Dickerson" (Dec. 4, 2005) Detroit Tigers Weblog