Looking back on Miguel Cabrera's legendary career by the numbers

Take a bow, Miguel Cabrera.

The veteran first baseman closed out his 21-year MLB career in Detroit on Sunday in front of his family and a packed house of grateful Tigers fans. 

At 40 years old, Cabrera leaves MLB as one of the sport’s all-time greats. After a five-year waiting period, he will be immortalized next to those players in Cooperstown, N.Y., inside the Baseball Hall of Fame.

With his career officially in the books, here is how Cabrera’s numbers stack up in MLB’s all-time record books.

How many MLB seasons did Miguel Cabrera play?

Cabrera played 21 major league seasons: five with the Florida Marlins and 16 with the Tigers.

Only 74 players logged more MLB seasons in their careers.

How many games did Miguel Cabrera play in his career?

Cabrera played in 2,797 career games, the 25th most of any player in MLB history.

How many plate appearances did Miguel Cabrera have in his career?

Cabrera’s 11,796 plate appearances rank 23rd in MLB history.

How many hits did Miguel Cabrera have in his career?

Cabrera ranks 17th on MLB’s all-time hits list with 3,174. He passed 2023 Baseball Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre for that spot on the list with a single against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sept. 19.

What was Miguel Cabrera’s career batting average?

Cabrera won four batting titles and hit .3065 for his career, tying him with George Kell for the 143rd-best batting average in league history.

How many home runs did Miguel Cabrera hit in his career?

With 511 home runs, Cabrera is tied with Mel Ott for the 25th most in MLB history.

How many RBIs did Miguel Cabrera have in his career?

One of Cabrera’s best areas was sending runners across the plate. His 1,881 career RBIs are the 13th-most all-time.

How many All-Star appearances did Miguel Cabrera have in his career?

Cabrera was a 12-time All-Star. Four of those came with the Marlins (2004-07) and the other eight came with the Tigers (2010-16 and 2022).

How many times did Miguel Cabrera win MVP?

Cabrera was named AL MVP in back-to-back seasons in 2012 and 2013. He is the last MLB player to win consecutive MVPs.

How many times did Miguel Cabrera win the Triple Crown?

Cabrera is one of 10 players to win an official Triple Crown since RBIs became an official statistic in 1920.

In 2012, he led the AL with career-highs in home runs (44) and RBIs (139) and rounded it out with a .330 average. It was the first Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski pulled off the feat in 1967.

How many times did Miguel Cabrera win the World Series?

If there is a more crowning achievement during a player’s career than the Triple Crown, it’s winning a World Series.

Cabrera got to lift the Commissioner’s Trophy with the Marlins in 2003, his first MLB season. He wasn’t a mere bystander on that championship team at 20 years old, either, as he homered off Roger Clemens in a Game 4 win over the New York Yankees.