Friday's Herald had a special insert on philanthropy that prominently featured Miggy. He was one of the faces featured on the cover.

 

Miami Herald - Philanthropy

COACH PITCH LEAGUE

Marlin shares his skills with kids

Miguel Cabrera sponsored a league at six parks in Miami-Dade County this summer, providing equipment and uniforms so kids could play for free.

 

BY KEVIN BAXTER

kbaxter@MiamiHerald.com

 

Miguel Cabrera fell in love with baseball from the time he was old enough to pick up a bat. But finding someone who had the time and desire to share that interest when he was a child was difficult.

 

''When I was a kid, I always wanted to [talk with] somebody if they knew about baseball,'' says Cabrera, a three-time All-Star with the Florida Marlins. ``I didn't have that chance.''

 

That's partly because the hardscrabble streets around Cabrera's childhood home in Maracay, Venezuela, are filled with temptations of every sort, making it easy for a kid hungry for baseball to get lost in the bustle. But regardless of the reason, it's a slight he's never forgotten. And it's why, whenever there's a kid hanging around the Marlins' dugout, the team's third baseman is never far away.

 

''Now I have that chance to teach the little kids what to do,'' says Cabrera, still babyfaced himself at 23. 'They want to know what we do at the [batting] cage. So I tell them. `I do this to get better.' That's it.

 

``What I do, that didn't happen to me.''

 

BOUGHT TICKETS

 

He does more than just offer advice, though. This summer Cabrera sponsored a coach pitch league at six parks in Miami-Dade County, providing equipment and uniforms so kids could play for free. He also brought tickets for the players and their families to go to a Marlins game and he's a tireless signer of bats, shirts, balls and other memorabilia for charity auctions.

 

''He's amazing. He really is,'' says Angela Smith, the Marlins' manager for community affairs.

 

That's a stark contrast to the reputation Cabrera once had among some in the media, where he was sometimes seen as moody and sullen.

 

''I just think it's kids,'' Smith continues. ``Kids don't have a hidden agenda. Just the pure love of the game and the enjoyment of him because of who he is.

 

``Miguel's a kid at heart. I think he just really relates to kids and enjoys being around them.''

 

And as the Marlins' outreach toward youth baseball has broadened, so has Cabrera's participation. This year the team's Dugout Buddies program brought Little League squads into the dugout before games.

 

''[Cabrera] goes over there every time without fail,'' Smith says. ``And when it's Make-a-Wish kids, anytime there's anyone down there, he's all about them. He's all over it.''

 

According to Boris Mizraki, a Venezuelan journalist and friend of Cabrera's, Miguel does the same thing at home.

 

AT HOME

 

''He does a lot of stuff there,'' Mizraki said. ``Supporting the [Little] League he played for, visiting kids in Maracay. [And] whenever they ask him for something, he just gives them whatever they want.''

 

But he does it all quietly, doing nothing to call attention to his work with kids. He even seems reluctant to even talk about it when asked.

 

''That's my person[ality],'' says Cabrera, the father of a 14-month-old daughter. ``I don't care if people know what I do outside the field. I don't care about the publicity. I do this because [it] feels good.''

 

And in the clubhouse Cabrera has matured into a team leader, especially with some of the Marlins' young Latin players such as Anibal Sanchez and Hanley Ramirez, who he has taken under his wing. One Marlin executive said the difference between this summer and last ``is night and day.''

 

''He seemed so much happier this year,'' the executive said. ``He kind of blossomed into who he is. He's kind of . . . taken on ownership of certain things.''

 

Cabrera brushes that praise aside as well.

 

''I don't know,'' he says. ``I don't pay attention to that, if I'm the leader of this team. The only thing I could say is these guys play hard. That's it.''

 

Well, not quite. Because there are several dozen T-ball kids in Miami and Maracay who also got the chance to play hard last summer. And for that, they have Cabrera to thank.

 

On another note, I don't know if it's been mentioned here but I just recently saw the new Miggy commercial for Visa. It's of far better quality than the Cingular commercial and he looks really good in it. Incidentally, he doesn't speak.

He's a perfect fit for South Florida. Sign him to long-term deal already! :deal