Miguel Cabrera became the 28th member of the 500 home run club Sunday when he hit the historic cannon shot off Blue Jays left-hander Steven Matz in the sixth inning at Toronto’s Rogers Center.
Cabrera is the first hitter to hit 500 home runs in the majors since David Ortiz did so in 2015.
Cabrera’s cannon shot, which came out over the fence between center and right, hit him before a change in speed from Matz. The ball left the bat at 104.1 mph and traveled an estimated distance of 400 feet.
In this way, Cabrera joins Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Alex Rodríguez, Albert Pujols, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., Jim Thome, Sammy Sosa, Frank Robinson, Mark McGwire, Harmon Killebrew, the Cuban Rafael Palmeiro, Reggie Jackson, the Dominican Manny Ramírez, Mike Schmidt, Ortiz, Mickey Mantle, Jimmie Foxx, Willie McCovey, Frank Thomas, Ted Williams, Ernie Banks, Eddie Mathews, Mel Ott, Gary Sheffield and Eddie Murray as the only ones sluggers in said brotherhood.
And of course, he is the first Venezuelan to reach that figure.
Cabrera is the first to hit the 500-homer mark since Ortiz, who hit his 500th homer on Sept. 12, 2015 in a Red Sox uniform. Cabrera is the second active player with the most homers after Pujols, who joined the club on April 22, 2014 with the Angels and so far has 677.
Miguel has hit 362 of his 500 home runs with the Tigers, ranking third in club history, behind Al Kaline (399) and Norm Cash (373).
What are the next records for Cabrera? A major one: 3,000 hits. Miguel has 2,955 hits, so he’s 45 away from joining one of the most exclusive clubs in the major leagues, the 500-homer, 3,000-hitter. There are only 32 members. Aside from Pujols, who has already broken the mark, Cabrera is the only active player around (Robinson Canó would be next, with 2,624 hits).
From www.mlb.com
