MARLINS | MIGUEL CABRERA

 

 

With all due respect

 

Though only in his third major-league season, 22-year-old Florida left fielder Miguel Cabrera has earned a level of esteem that few players, regardless of age or experience, have attained.

 

BY KEVIN BAXTER

 

kbaxter@herald.com

 

 

Roger Clemens has won 330 games in his major-league career. Miguel Cabrera hasn't even played in 330.

 

Yet when they met in the sixth inning of a 1-0 game at Dolphins Stadium earlier this week, it was the 42-year-old Clemens who gave in to the 22-year-old Cabrera, pitching around him even though the walk put the tying run in scoring position.

 

''He's getting some respect around the league,'' Marlins hitting coach Bill Robinson said of Cabrera. ``It's kind of the ultimate respect with a man on base.''

 

That will happen when you rank among the league leaders in a half-dozen offensive categories, including batting (.372) and RBI (25). Clemens, after all, didn't blaze a trail to a certain Hall of Fame selection by pitching to the wrong guy.

 

''He's the [total] package,'' Houston manager Phil Garner said. ``He's what you'd like to get. He's got power. He's a good hitter. And he doesn't have weaknesses.

 

``It's tough to pitch to a guy like that.''

 

Pitchers on two continents would agree because Cabrera's fast start this spring simply is a continuation of the winter he had in Venezuela, when he batted .448 and won the country's triple crown, then shattered records for homers (nine) and RBI (32) during the 16-game playoff semifinals. With the Marlins, Cabrera's mid-April move to the cleanup spot in the lineup turned around a team that lost six of its first 11, sparking them to 14 wins in 20 games and taking them to within a half-game of first in the National League East heading into tonight's opener of a six-game road trip in San Diego.

 

''Playing in Venezuela,'' said Cabrera, who is hitting a major league-best .447 on the road this season, ``helped me a lot.''

 

Here's how hot Cabrera is: Hitting coach Bill Robinson, who guided the Marlins to the first- and third-best team averages in franchise history in his first three seasons with the team, said there's nothing he can say to help Cabrera.

 

''I stay away from that young man,'' he said. ``When they're doing well, you have to know when, as a hitting coach, to be quiet and just be there. He's the least of my worries.''

 

RARE GIFTS

 

Robinson and Garner agree that two keys to Cabrera's success are his patience at the plate and his ability to hit the ball the other way when he gets behind in the count, traits rarely found in young hitters.

 

''It's hard to be a power hitter and be able to pull the ball and then discipline yourself to shoot the ball to the middle of the diamond when you've got two strikes,'' Garner said. ``Most hitters in the big leagues don't learn to do it. And those that do learn, it's usually after they've played a number of years.''

 

Adds Robinson: ``He literally hits from the right-field line to the left-field line. When you have that and the guy doesn't worry about pulling the ball and just hits it where it's pitched, your slumps are going to be nil.

 

``This kid can hit a ball out to right field like a left-handed pull hitter.''

 

Much of what Cabrera learned about baseball he learned at an early age growing up in a family in which three uncles played professional baseball while his mother, Gregoria, starred for Venezuela's national softball team. As a result, Cabrera was on a baseball field almost from the time he could walk and was impressing scouts with his batting stroke before he had turned 15. At one tryout, a Minnesota Twins official in Venezuela made Cabrera hit from 25 feet behind the plate because he kept losing balls over an outfield wall more than 365 feet away.

 

As a result, Cabrera was a mature hitter years before he qualified as a mature person.

 

''That was kind of instilled in him,'' Robinson said. ``He's very confident. Not cocky [but] very confident in his abilities.''

 

QUIET APPROACH

 

Just don't expect him to talk much about it. Ask Cabrera about his hitting, his move to fourth in the lineup or his chances to make his second All-Star team this season, and he swats away the question like a hanging curveball.

 

''The important thing is we're winning,'' he said. ``That's it.''

 

What about fatigue then? Cabrera, who sat out Wednesday's finale of a six-game homestand, has missed just two starts this season and when you figure in spring training, last fall's postseason tour of Japan and the Venezuelan winter league season, he has played more than 270 games in the past 15 months.

 

''How can I be tired?'' he answered. ``It's the [second] month. I'm only 22 years old.''

 

That last fact is perhaps the scariest: He's only 22 years old. And, Robinson said, he's going to get better.

 

''He is special. [but] he's learning how to hit,'' Robinson said. ``Just try to keep him humble, keep him hungry, keep him happy.''

 

miami herald

 

 

 

He truly is a gifted player...

Ask Cabrera about his hitting, his move to fourth in the lineup or his chances to make his second All-Star team this season, and he swats away the question like a hanging curveball.

 

''The important thing is we're winning,'' he said. ``That's it.''

 

:thumbup

lock him up...screw the 3 year arbitration eligiblity waiting period. i say we ink him to a...13 year 200 million dollar contract after his 3 years :thumbup

:thumbup lock him up...screw the 3 year arbitration eligiblity waiting period. i say we ink him to a...13 year 200 million dollar contract after his 3 years :thumbup

771711[/snapback]

agreed.... :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy

''How can I be tired?'' he answered. ``It's the [second] month. I'm only 22 years old.''

 

 

:thumbup What I like to hear!!!

miguel will truely become one of the best players to play the game. hes incredible

Hmmm..This gives me an idea for a poll. I will post it in a few minutes, just need a few stats first. :thumbup