The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #29 Miguel Cabrera

Lumbering in at #29 is Florida Marlins and Detroit Tigers hit-man Miguel Cabrera. Miggy brought the total package of patience, power, and an elite hit tool to the batter’s box during his stellar peak that extended from 2004-2016. During this time, he won back-to-back AL MVPs, finished in the top-5 seven times and the top-10 nine times. He holds the record for most seasons with 175 hits and 100 RBIs (12). His 10 consecutive seasons with at least 320 total bases is the second-longest streak of all-time behind only Willie Mays. He’s the only player since 1949 to lead the league in batting average four times and home runs twice. In 2012, he became the first player in 45 years to win the Triple Crown. He’s on pace to become the first player in history with 3,000 hits, 500 home runs while hitting above .305. and the first player in history with 500 home runs, 600 doubles while hitting above .305. It remains to be seen where Miggy will finish on all-time lists but he’s poised to enter the top-15 in hits, home runs, RBIs, doubles, extra-base hits, total bases, and runs created, and he’s already 9th all-time in intentional walks. Not to be outdone in the postseason, Miggy helped lead the Marlins to the World Series title in 2003 while also setting the record for most postseason home runs, hits, RBIs, and runs by the age of 20. He led the Tigers to four consecutive playoff appearances for the first time in franchise history and a World Series appearance in 2012.

Leave a Reply

Hi (hopefully) awesome reader! I welcome your comments. However, please be aware that I make all of my arguments using facts, statistics, and logic. Unfortunately, the average comment on a top-100 list goes something like this:

"UR StooPid. (Insert player) is trash. I've watched (pick a sport) for (pick a number of years) and (pick a player) is better than everyone. UR DUMB. HAHA6969."

–Some Jabroni

As cognitively stimulating as this species of comment is, it ends up being a missed opportunity to share a nuanced perspective. I reply to all comments that show even the most basic levels of thought and humility. The people who make the comments like the example above are under the assumption that the three seconds of thought that popped into their brains after reading the list is more than the 1000s of hours that I put into creating and maintaining the lists. I would be happy to defend any placement, or make an adjustment if one is warranted. If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.

For everyone else, I look forward to your comments!

P.S. The theme of this site and the top-100 lists is that athletes from previous generations have historically been grossly overrated by sports publications in a way that is statistically improbable. Click on the "About" dropdown menu to see just how badly the average top-100 list disproportionately favors athletes from older generations when leagues were smaller, race quotas existed, and globalization wasn't a thing. Also, please consider reading "The History" section of the sport you are commenting on.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *