Opening Day Auction 2014
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/26/2014
Following a tremendous 2012 campaign that saw Miguel Cabrera win his 1st AL MVP, 2nd consecutive batting title, the first AL Triple Crown in 45 years, and a trip to the World Series, many baseball pundits wondered what “Miggy” could possibly do for an encore. As 2013 unfolded, Miguel Cabrera quickly answered all questions with an emphatic exclamation point.
30 home runs, 95 RBI and a .365 batting average. Amazing numbers any player would be proud to have at the completion of a season. Numbers that display power, consistency, and superiority at the plate. Numbers...if replicated on a yearly basis...that would be the building blocks in constructing a Hall of Fame career.
But Miguel Cabrera is another kind of "amazing". He had put these numbers up before the All-Star break! Going on an unprecedented offensive one-man wrecking crew barrage of reliability and power never before demonstrated by any player in the history of the game, Miggy set a MLB RECORD, 174 years in the making, wearing this offered jersey.
On July 11, 2013, Miguel, already having driven in an beastly 93 runs for the year, connected for a solo home run in the 5th inning against the visiting Chicago White Sox and their ace, Chris Sale. It was his 30th home run of the season (351st of his career), and 94th RBI. The next morning, sports headlines throughout the country reminded all baseball fans just how blessed they were to be witnessing this in the current baseball era...the greatness of Miguel Cabrera.
“MIGUEL CABRERA SETS MLB RECORD AS FIRST IN HISTORY to 30 H.R.’s AND 90 RBI BEFORE ALL-STAR BREAK”.
A quick statistical review of the games greats would confirm the headlines: Ruth, Aaron, DiMaggio, Williams, Foxx, Gehrig, Mantle, Mays, F. Robinson....none of the greatest hitters in the annuls of baseball history who possessed the ability to hit with power and for average...could lay claim to what Miguel Cabrera had just accomplished. Miggy would add one more RBI on a sac fly the following night, reaching 30 home runs and 95 RBI as his official totals before the break. If not for battling serious injuries in the second half of the season, one ultimately requiring surgery (courageously postponed by Miguel so he could lead his team through their post season run), we very well may have been witness to the first back-to-back Triple Crown winner in MLB history as well.
When the smoke cleared on the 2013 season, Miguel had won his 3rd consecutive AL batting title and was honored with a back-to-back 2nd AL MVP award. This jersey carries lineage to the most significant moment of Miggy’s great 2013 season, worn for the home run which set his only MLB record during what likely will be viewed years from now as the peak run of his HOF career. Declaring it’s pedigree all in his own hand, Miguel added the finishing touches via his fine period signature complete with a warm “Best Wishes” salutation...along with every pertinent stat and honor associated with his achievements in part while wearing this jersey. Affixed to the manufacturer’s tag is an MLB authentication tamper proof hologram reading “EK 636659” which, upon review on MLB's website, will verify the jersey's provenance. The team equipment managers familiar markings, the very inclusion of which is mandatory in positively identifying Tiger's game used artifacts of this era, are also prominently found in customary black marker. Simply put, this jersey has it all.
Of the few Miguel Cabrera game used jerseys that come to auction, occasionally one brags of home run provenance. Representing a "mini-milestone" of it's own as Miguel's 30th home run jersey of his 2nd consecutive MVP season, none can approach the additional magnitude and achievement performed while donning this royal cloth. Pondering the fact this may very well end up being the only MLB record setting jersey worn by Miguel during his majestic path to Cooperstown immortality, any astute collector will quickly realize the opportunity at hand: This is the most desirable jersey one could hope to acquire of the greatest hitter in the game today.