Meet Miguel Cabrera's 5 Biggest Victims

Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera is one of the most cerebral hitters the game of baseball has ever seen.

A career .320 hitter, Cabrera is a superstar heavyweight boxer, champion chess player and big kid wrapped into a 6’4”, 240-pound frame.

MLB pitchers who stare into the batter’s box at Cabrera know they have to outsmart the Triple Crown winner.  While some pitching staffs do have success against this 30-year-old Venezuela native, most find themselves kicking dirt in disgust. 

This includes staffs from the AL Central Division.  Per Baseball-Reference statistics, Cabrera has batted .320 (463-for-1,445) with 88 home runs, 89 doubles and 293 RBI in 380 career games against teams in this division.

While impressive, Cabrera has given five other teams outside the AL Central absolute fits in his 10-year career.  These victims of Cabrera’s brute wrath (minimum 150 plate appearances), are the subject of this slideshow. 

Source of Stats: Baseball-Reference.com and MLB.com

Victim No. 1: Baltimore Orioles

Cabrera seems to love facing the Orioles. In 39 career games (178 plate appearances), he has hit .381 (56-for-147) with 13 homers and 36 RBI against the Birds. 

Cabrera's OBP/SLG/OPS is an eye-popping .468/.721/1.189.

Cabrera’s biggest victim was right-hander Jeremy Guthrie. Between 2010 and 2011, Cabrera batted .571 (4-for-7) with two home runs and four RBI against the former Oriole pitcher.  

Victim No. 2: Colorado Rockies

Comically, Cabrera continued to harass Guthrie when Guthrie went to Colorado in 2012 (in the trade that brought Jason Hammel to the Orioles).

That year, Cabrera batted 4-for-12 with a walk and two RBI against Guthrie.

However, Guthrie was not the only Colorado hurler that had disliked facing Cabrera. 

In 39 career games (174 plate appearances), Cabrera has batted .409 (61-for-149) with nine home runs and 29 RBI.

Cabrera’s OBP/SLG/OPS is .494/.685/1.179.

A large chunk of Cabrera’s damage occurred at Coors Field. There he batted .431 (31-for-72) with five home runs and 16 RBI.

Victim No. 3: New York Yankees

Yankees fans hate seeing Cabrera step into the batter’s box, much like cats despise sitting in carriers in moving cars.

And rightly so.

In 43 career games (179 plate appearances), Cabrera has batted .359 (56-for-156) with 15 homers and 39 RBI.

His slugging percent against the Yankees is a ridiculous .731.

Cabrera also loves batting at Yankee Stadium (old and new). In 19 games, he has hit .391 with nine bombs and 22 RBI with a 1.300-plus OPS.

But what Cabrera loves most when it comes to the Yankees involves stepping to the plate vs. Phil Hughes.

Poor Hughes, Cabrera owns this guy during regular-season play. Between ‘09 and ‘13, Cabrera has hit .572 (12-for-21) with four home runs and 10 RBI.  Cabrera also has three doubles to his credit.

Victim No. 4: Washington Nationals

Most of Cabrera’s damage against the Nationals came while he was with the Florida Marlins.

Regardless, in 84 games (368 plate appearances), he has batted .362 (113-for-312) with 21 home runs and 78 RBI.

Tony Armas was by far Cabrera's biggest victim for the Nationals.

Between 2004 and 2006, Cabrera was 7-for-10 (.700) with one home run, four RBI and four walks against Armas. 

While Cabrera has yet to break in his lumber at Nationals Park (which he will be able to do Wednesday), he crushed pitches at RFK Stadium. There Cabrera batted .388 with five home runs, 29 RBI and a 1.099 OPS.

Victim No. 5: Texas Rangers

Cabrera also has an affinity for the Rangers. In 52 games, he has hit .371 (79-for-213) with nine home runs and 54 RBI.

Cabrera's OBP/SLG/OPS is currently .419/.596/1.016.

At Rangers Ballpark, Cabrera has hit .364 (36-for-99) with three homers, 11 doubles and 27 RBI.

Cabrera’s biggest victim in a Rangers uniform was Scott Feldman. Between 2009 and 2012, Cabrera batted—get this—.900 (9-for-10) with two home runs and five RBI.

Feldman’s worst season vs. Cabrera came in 2010. That year, Feldman faced Cabrera five times.

In those five at-bats, Cabrera posted five hits, two homers and four RBI. He also earned two doubles and a walk.

Cabrera’s SLG and OPS was a beyond gaudy 2.600/3.600, respectably.

But Feldman can take solace. For he is not alone in being one of Cabrera’s victims.

Rest assured, Feldman will not be the last.  


Follow @basebookme