Miguel Cabrera had been stuck at 499 home runs for 10 days but it seemed like only a matter of time before he made contact on No. 500.
In the sixth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Detroit Tigers slugger tied the game with one swing of the bat as he hit a home run off Steven Matz for his 500th career homer. Fans took the time to acknowledge Cabrera with a standing ovation as he round the bases and as he came out of the dugout for a curtain call.
He becomes just the 28th player in MLB history to reach the milestone and adds to what has been a Hall of Fame career. The last player to reach the 500 home run milestone was David Ortiz with the Boston Red Sox back in 2015.
The next item on Cabrera’s list is 3,000 career hits as he sits at 2,955 so far and could potentially achieve that milestone this season if he is able to stay healthy. If he were able to reach 3,000 hits and 500 home runs in his career, he will be just the seventh to have done so joining Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Rafael Palmeiro, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez and Eddie Murray.
Back in 2012, the 38-year-old became just the 15th player in league history to win baseball’s Triple Crown joining an elite list of hitters that includes Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig. He is the first Venezuelan-born player to reach 500 home runs adding that to the back-to-back MVP awards he won in 2012 and 2013.
Many took to social media to celebrate Cabrera’s accomplishment and help stake his claim as one of the top hitters of his era.
https://twitter.com/jgroc/status/1429520341773258753
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