Rotating Hobbyist: Gracias Miggy, goodbye baseball season

The rotating hobbyist is a column by Karly Graham talking about her favorite pastimes and hobbies, as there are many that serve her on a temporary and rotating basis.

Baseball has always been my sport of choice.

I grew up going to my older brother's baseball games, and when I was old enough, I started playing softball. It helped that my family liked the sport a lot too, with the Detroit Tigers taking their place on the screen at the front of our living room seemingly nightly when I was growing up.

I'd be lying if I said I always enjoyed watching it. I'd complain about the hot days and long car rides to get to my brother's tournaments, and as a five-year-old, I would have preferred that Hannah Montana took center stage on the family TV rather than Curtis Granderson.

But as I got older, I developed a love for the sport. I found players to root for, and found myself seeking out the games on my own.

Specifically, I watch my lifelong team: The Detroit Tigers.

For essentially my entire conscious life, and especially since becoming a baseball fan, there's been one constant on my team: Miguel Cabrera.

I watched as my favorite Tiger, J.D. Martinez, got traded to Arizona, who then went on to sign with Boston, win a World Series, and then sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers (which was a personal attack against me, in my opinion. It would've only been worse if it was the Yankees.)

I watched as Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander left Detroit just to go on to win World Series rings of their own too. All while Miggy stayed put in Detroit.

And he had fun doing it too.

Everyone's seen the clips. The second Miguel Cabrera gets on base he'll grab the mitt of a first baseman and joke around. He chats with the second baseman or shortstops. He makes silly faces to the crowd while he's on deck.

And after 21 seasons, 16 wearing the Old English D, his time as a Tiger — and a major leaguer — has come to an end.

His last games of the season were spent at Comerica Park, the stadium he's called home for most of his career. He received praise for his many accolades the whole season, each team bidding him farewell with gifts and applause, but nothing could compare to his final days as a Tiger.

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I was lucky enough to have a spot in the stadium Oct. 1 when Miguel Cabrera played his final game at Comerica. With a standing room only ticket and my best friend beside me, we watched as Cabrera took his final major league at bat, and as he took to the field for a single play in the top of the eighth. As he stood alone on the field, "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day played throughout the stadium.

The first play of the inning, Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan hit the ball right to Cabrera. He got the out himself before the Tigers' head coach A.J. Hinch walked out of the dugout with three of Cabrera's children to pull him from the game, and send him on his way to retirement.

Granted, he's not going far. He'll be joining the Tiger's front office next year as a special assistant to the president of baseball operations. But fans won't be seeing him on the field anymore.

To send Miggy off, before the game started, Comerica organized a "card stunt," where each seat had a poster, with the signs writing out "¡Gracias Miggy!" alongside a "500" and a "3,000" displayed in the upper deck, representing the number of career home runs and hits Miguel Cabrera had while in the MLB. There was also a "24" shown by the posters, representing the number he wore.

It's no secret the Detroit Tigers have had a tough few years. The team hasn't had a winning season since 2016, and hasn't seen a postseason game since 2014. After a nearly decade-long rebuild, the team seems to finally have a core group of young, talented players who should be able to lead us to better years ahead.

And they all got their starts with Miggy on their team.

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Something special about sports is the immediate community someone can feel when they enter a park, arena or stadium. The people gathering there all have a shared love of the sport and just want to see their teams come home with a win. While standing by the Miggy's Milestones marker at the start of this month, I found myself chatting with every person around me, hoping to see just one more at bat, one more play, one more success before the end of Cabrera's final season.

That Sunday game, the Tigers beat the Guardians 5-2.

I'm sure I'll forget the score one day, and I have to believe Miggy will too. But what will be hard to forget is the love and community in Comerica Park while the face of the franchise said goodbye for the last time. Luckily, even the whales got to see the end of the farewell tour.

— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN. 

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Rotating Hobbyist: Gracias Miggy, goodbye baseball season