Detroit Tigers Updates for Games 75 Through 80

Tuesday 6/25/13 LA Angels-14  Detroit-8                 
In the first game of the three game series between the Angels and the Tigers, Detroit played their worst defensive game of the year, making six errors.  Rick Porcello had another shaky outing getting his fifth loss of the season.  Porcello went 4-1/3 innings while giving up seven runs on ten hits, two walks and two strikeouts.  Darin Downs took over on the mound and lasted a whole 1/3 of an inning while giving up three runs on three hits and one walk.  Evan Reed was not much better, going 2-2/3 innings while giving up four runs on one hit, two walks and two strikeouts.  Luke Putkonen was given the ball next and threw 2/3 of an inning, giving up no runs on two hits and one K.  Phil Coke finished the game with one scoreless inning with one walk and two strikeouts.  C.J. Wilson got the start and the win for the Angels, his seventh of the season, going five innings while giving up five runs on seven hits, two walks and four strikeouts.  Three relievers finished the game for LA going a combined four innings while giving up three runs on three hits and two walks.  Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez led the offense with Cabrera going 1-4 with a homerun and two RBI’s and Martinez going 1-4 with two RBI’s.  Austin Jackson was 1-3 with one RBI, Ramon Santiago drew a bases loaded walk to earn an RBI, Prince Fielder was 1-4 with a double and one RBI and Don Kelly drove in one run with a sac fly.  Torii Hunter had three hits while Andy Dirks, Omar Infante and Avisail Garcia each had one hit.  Cabrera and Reed each had two errors while Hunter and Bryan Holaday each had one apiece.  The Tigers collected ten hits four walks and left six men on base.                          


Wednesday 6/26/13 LA Angels-7  Detroit-4
In the second game of the series, Detroit was trying to bounce back after the horrible game on Tuesday but came up short.  Jose Alverez took the loss, his first of the season, going 5-2/3 innings while giving up four runs on seven hits, one walk and three strikeouts.  Drew Smyly came next and gave up three runs on two hits, two walks and one K in 1-1/3 innings of work.  Al Alburquerque and Luke Putkonen finished the game each pitching a scoreless inning giving up one hit and fanning three.  Billy Buckner got the start for the Angels lasting three innings while giving up three runs on seven hits and one walk but did not get a decision.  Dana De La Rosa got the win, his second win of the season, going two scoreless innings while giving up one hit, one walk and one strikeout.  Three relievers combined to go three innings while giving up one run on three hits and two strikeouts.  Ernesto Frieri earned his 18^th save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning while giving up one hit and fanning one.  Torii Hunter and Miguel Cabrera led the offense with Hunter going 2-5 with a double and a solo homerun and Cabrera going 2-4 with a solo homerun.  Prince Fielder was 2-4 with a double and one RBI, Brayan Pena had two hits while Austin Jackson, Victor Martinez, Jhonny Peralta and Andy Dirks each had one hit.  Miguel Cabrera made an error, his ninth of the season.  The Tigers collected twelve hits, two walks and left seven men on base.                                 
   

Thursday 6/27/13 LA Angels-3  Detroit-1  (10 Innings)
In the third game of the series the Tigers were trying not to be swept, not just for this series but the season series as well.  Unfortunately they were unsuccessful losing in ten innings to the Angels.  Doug Fister got the start for the Tigers going seven innings while giving up one run on seven hits, one walk and four strikeouts but did not factor in the decision.  Al Alburquerque and Joaquin Benoit each threw a scoreless inning giving up a combined one hit, two walks and three strikeouts.  Phil Coke game on in the tenth and was saddled with the loss, his fifth of the season, he gave up two runs on three hits and one walk in 1/3 of an inning.  Luke Putkonen finished the game getting out both batters he faced.  Brayan Pena drove in the only run of the game for the Tigers going 2-4.  Jhonny Peralta had two hits while Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Omar Infante each had one hit. The Tigers collected seven hits, two walks, one hit batsman and left seven men on base.              


Friday 6/28/13 Detroit-6  Tampa Bay-3
After being swept in the season series by the Angels, the Tigers were glad to see them go, and traveled to Tampa to face the Rays in a three game series.  In game one the Tigers sent undefeated Max Scherzer to the mound as the Rays countered with Alex Colome.  Scherzer stayed perfect earning his twelfth of the season, the first pitcher to start the season 12-0 since 1986 when Roger Clemens did it.  He is also the only pitcher in the 113 year history of the Tigers to start the season 12-0.  Scherzer went seven innings while giving up three runs on four hits, one walk and nine strikeouts.  He also has the second longest streak in American League history with 16 games striking out at least six batters, the longest streak is held by Pedro Martinez with 29 in 2000.  Al Alburquerque gave up one walk and two strikeouts in 2/3 of an inning of work while Drew Smyly fanned the only batter he faced.  Joaquin Benoit recorded his fifth save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning were he gave up one hit and struck out two.  Colome was saddled with his first loss of the season going six innings while giving up four runs on four hits, two walks and two strikeouts.  Three relievers finished the game for the Rays going a combined three innings while giving up two runs on four hits, one walk and two K’s.  Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder led the offense with Cabrera going 4-4 with a double, two homeruns and three RBI’s and Fielder going 2-3 with a double and a home run and two RBI’s.  Don Kelly and Omar Infante had the only other Tiger hit of the game with each getting one hit.  The Tigers collected eight hits, three walks, one hit batsman and left four men on base.       


Saturday 6/29/13 Detroit-3  Tampa Bay-4  (10 Innings)
In the second game of the three game series the Tigers were trying to build on Max Scherzer’s twelfth win of the season but the bullpen was unable to get the win as the Tigers fell 3-4 in ten innings.  Justin Verlander got the start and had a great outing, going eight innings while giving up three runs on nine hits, four walks and four strikeouts.  Drew Smyly struck out the side in the ninth but Bruce Rondon got the loss, his first of the season giving up one run on three hits and one K.  Chris Archer got the start for the Rays, going five innings while giving up three runs on five hits, three walks and three strikeouts.  Alex Torres threw two scoreless innings while giving up one walk and striking out three and Joel Peralta gave up one hit in an inning of work.  Former Tiger Fernando Rodney got the win, his third of the season, going two scoreless innings with two hits and two strikeouts.  Austin Jackson and Jhonny Peralta drove in the three Tigers runs with Jackson going 1-3 with a solo homerun and Peralta going 1-5 with two RBI’s.  Victor Martinez had three hits while Miguel Cabrera, Omar Infante and Bryan Pena each had one hit. Prince Fielder made an error his fourth of the season and the Tigers collected eight hits, four walks and left nine men on base.  This was the Tigers ninth extra inning loss of the season, they have only won two extra inning games this season.


Sunday 6/30/13 Detroit-1  Tampa Bay-3
In the rubber game of the series between the Rays and Tigers, the Tigers sent Rick Porcello to the mound and theRays countered with Jeremy Hellickson.  Porcello was saddled withthe loss, his sixth of the season, going six innings while giving up three runs on eight hits, two walksand three strikeouts.  Phil Coke and Bruce Rondon each threw a scoreless inning giving up one hit and fanning one.  Hellickson got the win, his seventh of the season going six innings while giving up one run on six hits, three walksand six strikeouts.  Three Rays relievers combined to go two perfect innings strikeing out one.  Fernando Rodney recorded his 17th save of the season giving up one hit in the ninth inning.  Miguel Cabrera hit his 25th homerun of the season for the Tigers only run of the game.  Omar Infante had two hits, while Torii Hunter, Victor Martinez, Andy Dirks and Bryan Holaday each had one hit.  The Tigers collected sevenhits, three walks and left eight men on base.  This was the Tigers fifth loss in their last six games.

Upcoming Games:
7/1/13 at Toronto 1:07(EDT)                    
7/2/13 at Toronto 7:07(EDT)
7/3/13 at Toronto 7:07(EDT)
7/4/13 at Toronto 7:07(EDT)
7/5/13 at Cleveland 7:05(EDT)
7/6/13 at Cleveland 4:05(EDT)
7/7/13 at Cleveland 1:05(EDT)
7/8/13 at Cleveland 7:05(EDT)


Cumulative stated for the Tigers in 2013:
Hitters:

M.Cabrera	.373	.680	80	316	64	118	215	20	1	25	82	48	56	2	0	9
M.Tuiasosopo	.338	.563	37	71	12	24	40	7	0	3	17	15	19	0	0	0
J.Peralta	.314	.463	75	283	35	89	131	21	0	7	36	27	68	2	2	4
O.Infante	.299	.423	73	281	35	84	119	16	2	5	24	15	29	4	2	4
T.Hunter	.297	.410	71	300	44	89	123	20	1	4	31	16	51	1	1	2
B.Pena	.295	.385	35	122	11	36	47	5	0	2	14	4	14	0	1	1
A.Jackson	.290	.401	49	207	47	60	83	9	1	4	18	27	42	6	1	1
P.Fielder	.274	.469	80	307	40	84	144	21	0	13	62	43	61	0	1	4
A.Dirks	.248	.353	67	238	29	59	84	5	1	6	21	19	46	6	0	0
A.Garcia	.244	.378	29	82	12	20	31	3	1	2	10	4	20	0	1	1
V.Martinez	.232	.337	79	297	29	69	100	13	0	6	40	27	36	0	1	0
B.Holaday	.231	.308	4	13	3	3	4	1	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	1
D.Kelly	.220	.360	54	100	16	22	36	3	1	3	12	14	14	2	0	0
A.Avila	.172	.288	48	163	16	28	47	4	0	5	13	22	58	0	0	2
R.Santiago	.151	.245	22	53	3	8	13	3	1	0	2	5	10	0	0	1

Pitchers:

L.Putkonen	1-1	1.84	15	0	0	6	0	0	14.20	13	4	3	1	4	11	1
J.Benoit	2-0	1.89	32	0	0	13	0	5	33.10	25	7	7	2	10	41	1
D.Smyly	3-0	2.20	29	0	0	7	0	2	49.00	36	12	12	1	14	51	2
A.Alburquerque	0-1	2.37	20	0	0	3	0	0	19.00	14	5	5	0	18	32	8
E.Reed	0-0	2.61	6	0	0	3	0	0	10.10	12	8	3	1	2	8	1
A.Sanchez	6-5	2.76	13	13	1	0	1	0	81.20	71	28	25	4	23	101	2
M.Scherzer	12-0	3.10	16	16	0	0	0	0	110.10	74	39	38	11	25	131	2
D.Fister	6-5	3.50	16	16	1	0	0	0	103.00	108	45	40	4	16	80	2
J.Verlander	8-5	3.77	17	17	0	0	0	0	105.00	108	47	44	8	39	114	0
J.Alvarez	1-1	3.78	3	3	0	0	0	0	16.20	15	7	7	4	4	13	0
J.Ortega	0-2	3.86	11	0	0	5	0	0	11.20	10	5	5	2	6	10	0
D.Downs	0-2	4.80	23	0	0	4	0	0	30.00	31	17	16	3	9	34	1
R.Porcello	4-6	5.21	16	15	0	1	0	0	86.10	94	51	50	10	17	68	2
J.Valverde	0-1	5.59	20	0	0	18	0	9	19.10	18	12	12	6	6	19	0
P.Coke	0-5	6.29	25	0	0	11	0	1	24.10	24	17	17	1	11	22	1
B.Rondon	0-1	9.00	5	0	0	3	0	0	4.00	8	4	4	0	2	3	1
O.Dotel	0-0	13.50	6	0	0	1	0	0	4.20	10	7	7	0	4	4	0
B.Villarreal	0-2	20.77	7	0	0	3	0	0	4.10	8	10	10	1	8	6	1

Games 68 Through 72 of the 2013 Detroit Tigers Season

Monday 6/17/13 Baltimore-1  Detroit-5
Monday was the start of a three game series between Detroit and Baltimore and game one featured Max Scherzer going for his tenth straight win, which would tie a team record set back in 1908.  The Orioles sent Jake Arrieta to the mound to try and stop Scherzer.  Max ended up coming out on top going six innings while giving up one run on seven hits, two walks and ten strikeouts.  Drew Smyly earned his second save of the season, going three perfect innings.  Arrieta took the loss, his second of the season, going 4-2/3 innings while giving up five runs on ten hits, one walk and three strikeouts.  Two other relievers combined to go 3-1/3 scoreless innings while giving up four hits and two K’s.  Miguel Cabrera led the offense, going 3-4 with a homerun and two RBI’s.  Austin Jackson was 3-4 with one RBI, Jhonny Peralta was 2-4 with a double and one RBI and Victor Martinez was 0-3 but drove in one run.  Omar Infante had four hits, while Prince Fielder and Torii Hunter each had one hit.  The Tigers collected fourteen hits, one walk and left seven men on base.

Tuesday 6/18/13 Baltimore-5  Detroit-2                 
In the second game of this series the Tigers sent Justin Verlander to the mound while the O’s sent Zach Britton.  Verlander took the loss his fifth of the season going five innings while giving up five runs on seven hits, four walks and five strikeouts.  Darin Downs, Luke Putkonen and Phil Coke combined for four scoreless innings while giving up two hits and one strikeout.  Britton got his first win of the season, going 5-1/3 innings while giving up one run on five hits, three walks and one K.  Three relievers combined to go 2-2/3 innings while giving up one run on three hits and three strikeouts.  Jim Johnson recorded his 26^th save of the season with a ninth inning where he gave up one hit and one walk.  Matt Tuiasosopo and Austin Jackson drove in the two Tigers runs with Jackson going 1-3 and Tuiasosopo going 1-3 with a homerun.  Torii Hunter and Miguel Cabrera each had two hits, while Jhonny Peralta, Omar Infante and Brayan Pena each had one hit.  The Tigers collected nine hits, four walks and left ten men on base.                      


Wednesday 6/19/13 Baltimore-13  Detroit-3
The rubber game of the series saw the Tigers send Rick Porcello to the hill opposed by Chris Tillman.  Tillman came out on top in a lopsided game 13-3.  Porcello took the loss, his fourth of the season, going six innings while giving up six runs on nine hits, no walks and four strikeouts.  Darin Downs took the mound next going 1/3 of an inning while giving up two runs on one hit, one walk and one strikeout.  Evan Reed took over for Downs and went 1-2/3 innings while giving up one run on two hits and three strikeouts.  Jose Valverde came on in the ninth with the game out of hand but allowed the Orioles to blow it open even farther giving up four runs on five hits and one K.  Two days after this game Valverde was designated for assignment and Jim Leyland named Joaquin Benoit as the closer (sort of).  Chris Tillman recorded his eighth win of the season going five innings while giving up three runs on seven hits, three walks and one strikeout.  Three relievers combined to go four scoreless innings while giving up four hits and six K’s.  Matt Tuiasosopo and Omar Infante drove in the three Detroit runs with Tuiasosopo going 1-2 with a double and two RBI’s and Infante going 1-4 with a double and an RBI.  Austin Jackson and Miguel Cabrera each had two hits, while Andy Dirks, Victor Martinez, Jhonny Peralta, Don Kelly and Bryan Holaday each had one hit, as the Tigers collected eleven hits, three walks and left ten men on base.                            
   

Thursday 6/20/13 Boston-3  Detroit-4
After the beating the Orioles inflicted on Detroit they were happy to see them go and welcomed the Boston Red Sox into Comerica Par.  In game one Jose Alverez was opposed by John Lackey but neither pitcher factored into the decision.  Alverez went five innings while giving up two runs on five hits, two walks and three strikeouts.  Luke Putkonen and Phil Coke combined to go two innings while giving up one run on one hit, two walks and two strikeouts.  Drew Smyly come on in the eighth and earned his third win of the season going two scoreless innings while giving up one hit and fanning four.  Lackey went seven innings for the sox, giving up two runs on seven hits, one walk and five K’s.  Koji Uehara threw a perfect eighth striking out one but Andrew Bailey was saddled with the loss, his first of the season after blowing the save in the ninth when he gave up two runs on one hit and a walk.  Torii Hunter and Jhonny Peralta drove in all four runs with Hunter going 1-4 with two RBI’s and Peralta going 1-4 with  walkoff two run homerun.  Austin Jackson, Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, Andy Dirks, Omar Infante and Brayan Pena all had one hit in the game.  The Tigers had eight hits, two walks and left five men on base.           


Friday 6/21/13 Boston-10  Detroit-6
The second game of the series featured a short outing but Doug Fister in a losing effort against Boston pitcher Jon Lester.  Fister went 3-1/3 innings while giving up six runs on eleven hits and one walk.  Darin Downs, Phil Coke, Al Alburquerque and Evan Reed combined to go 5-2/3 innings while giving up four runs on six hits, three walks and five K’s.  Lester went 5-2/3 innings for his seventh win of the season while giving up five runs on nine hits, three walks and three strikeouts.  Three relievers combined to go 3-1/3 innings while giving up one run on two hits, two walks and one strikeout.  Miguel Cabrera and Andy Dirks led the offense with Cabrera going 4-4 with a homerun and three RBI’s and Dirks going 1-2 with a solo homerun.  Brayan Pena was 2-4 with one RBI and Prince Fielder also had an RBI.  Torii Hunter had two hits while Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta each had one hit.  The Tigers collected eleven hits, five walks and left eight men on base.   


Saturday 6/22/13 Boston-3  Detroit-10
In the third game of the series the Red Sox sent Allen Webster to the mound and the Tigers sent Max Scherzer to the hill.  Scherzer was trying to set the team record for wins to start the season with eleven.  Scherzer was successful in his attempt going seven innings while giving up two runs on six hits, no walks and six strikeouts.  Al Alburquerque took the mound next, going one scoreless inning with one hit, one walk and one strikeout.  Luke Putkonen finished the game with a ninth inning where he gave up one run on three hits.  Webster took the loss for Boston, his second of the season, going 4-1/3 innings while giving up five runs on eight hits, two walks and five strikeouts.  Two relievers combined to go 3-2/3 innings while giving up five runs on seven hits, three walks and four strikeouts.  Victor Martinez and Omar Infante led the attack with Martinez going 2-3 with a double, a grand slam and five RBI’s and Infante going 1-4 with a two run homer.  Austin Jackson was 3-5 with an RBI and Jhonny Peralta was 1-4 with an RBI.  Torii Hunter and Andy Dirks each had three hits, while Miguel Cabrera and Brayan Pena each had one hit.  The Tigers collected fifteen hits, five walks and left seven men on base.                       


Sunday 6/23/13 Boston-5  Detroit-7
In the final game of the four game series Boston sent Felix Doubront to the mound and the Tigers went with Justin Verlander.  Verlander continued his struggles this season but did not get a decision as the Tigers rallied late to win the game.  Verlander went five innings while giving up four runs on seven hits, three walks and four strikeouts.  Drew Smyly took over on the mound going 2-2/3 scoreless innings giving up three hits.  Joaquin Benoit earned his second win of the season, going 1-1/3 innings while giving up one run on two hits, no walks and two strikeouts.  Doubront went five innings for the Sox giving up three runs on four hits, four walks and two strikeouts but did not get a decision.  Two relievers combined to go 1-1/3 innings while giving up one run on two hits, one walk and one strikeout.  Andrew Miller came on to get the save but blew the lead and was saddled with his second loss of the season going 2/3 of an inning while giving up three runs on one hit, one walk and one K.  Two other relievers finished the game going one scoreless inning giving up one hit and one walk.  Prince Fielder led the offense, going 2-5 with three RBI’s.  Miguel Cabrera was 2-4 with one RBI while Torii Hunter and Jhonny Peralta each drove in a run.  Austin Jackson had two hits while Omar Infante and Bryan Holaday each had one hit.  The Tigers collected eight hits, seven walks and left ten men on base.


Upcoming Games:
6/2513 vs. LA Angels 7:08(EDT)
6/26/13 vs. LA Angels 7:08(EDT)
6/27/13 vs. LA Angels 1:08(EDT)
6/28/13 at Tampa Bay 7:10(EDT)
6/29/13 at Tampa Bay 7:15(EDT)
6/30/13 at Tampa Bay 1:40(EDT)
7/1/13 at Toronto 1:07(EDT)


Cumulative stated for the Tigers in 2013
Hitters:

M.Cabrera	.370	.657	76	300	59	111	197	18	1	22	78	47	54	2	0	9
M.Tuiasosopo	.338	.563	37	71	12	24	40	7	0	3	17	15	19	0	0	0
J.Peralta	.320	.476	71	269	35	86	128	21	0	7	34	26	65	2	2	4
T.Hunter	.307	.425	68	287	44	88	122	20	1	4	31	16	50	1	1	2
A.Jackson	.306	.409	45	193	45	59	79	9	1	3	17	23	38	6	1	1
B.Pena	.297	.387	31	111	11	33	43	4	0	2	13	4	12	0	1	1
O.Infante	.295	.414	69	268	35	79	111	13	2	5	24	14	28	3	2	4
P.Fielder	.281	.473	76	292	38	82	138	20	0	12	60	41	59	0	1	3
A.Dirks	.254	.360	64	228	29	58	82	4	1	6	21	18	40	6	0	0
A.Garcia	.250	.388	28	80	12	20	31	3	1	2	10	4	18	0	1	1
D.Kelly	.228	.380	52	92	16	21	35	3	1	3	12	14	13	2	0	0
V.Martinez	.227	.337	75	282	27	64	95	13	0	6	40	25	34	0	0	0
B.Holaday	.200	.200	3	10	3	2	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1
A.Avila	.172	.288	48	163	16	28	47	4	0	5	13	22	58	0	0	2
R.Santiago	.163	.265	20	49	3	8	13	3	1	0	2	5	8	0	0	1

Pitchers:

L.Putkonen	1-1	1.93	14	0	0	5	0	0	14.00	13	4	3	1	4	11	1
J.Benoit	2-0	2.01	30	0	0	12	0	4	31.10	23	7	7	2	9	37	0
D.Smyly	3-0	2.27	27	0	0	7	0	2	47.20	36	12	12	1	14	47	2
A.Alburquerque	0-1	2.60	18	0	0	3	0	0	17.10	14	5	5	0	16	29	7
E.Reed	0-0	2.61	6	0	0	3	0	0	10.10	12	8	3	1	2	8	1
A.Sanchez	6-5	2.76	13	13	1	0	1	0	81.20	71	28	25	4	23	101	2
M.Scherzer	11-0	3.05	15	15	0	0	0	0	103.10	70	36	35	9	24	122	2
D.Fister	6-5	3.66	15	15	1	0	0	0	96.00	101	44	39	4	15	76	2
J.Alvarez	1-1	3.78	3	3	0	0	0	0	16.20	15	7	7	4	4	13	0
J.Ortega	0-2	3.86	11	0	0	5	0	0	11.20	10	5	5	2	6	10	0
J.Verlander	8-5	3.90	16	16	0	0	0	0	97.00	99	44	42	7	35	110	0
D.Downs	0-2	4.80	23	0	0	4	0	0	30.00	31	17	16	3	9	34	1
R.Porcello	4-5	5.27	15	14	0	1	0	0	80.10	86	48	47	10	15	65	2
J.Valverde	0-1	5.59	20	0	0	18	0	9	19.10	18	12	12	6	6	19	0
P.Coke	0-4	5.87	23	0	0	11	0	1	23.00	20	15	15	1	10	22	1
B.Rondon	0-0	11.57	3	0	0	1	0	0	2.10	5	3	3	0	2	1	0
O.Dotel	0-0	13.50	6	0	0	1	0	0	4.20	10	7	7	0	4	4	0
B.Villarreal	0-2	20.77	7	0	0	3	0	0	4.10	8	10	10	1	8	6	1

Is Miguel Cabrera One Of The Greatest Hitters Of All Time?

     In 2012 Miguel Cabrera won the Triple Crown with 44 homeruns, 139 RBI's and a batting average of .330 he was the first Triple Crown winner since Carl Yastzemski did it in 1967.  This season Cabrera is leading the AL with a average of .352 and 69 RBI's and he is fourth in homeruns with 18, five behind Baltimore's Chris Davis.  If Cabrera can manage to win a second Triple Crown, would that rank him as one of the best hitters of all time?  I believe it will.
      In the history of Major League baseball there have been 17 Triple Crowns won and only two players have ever won two, Rodgers Hornsby in 1922 and 1925 and Ted Williams in 1942 and 1947.  If Cabrera can keep hitting, driving in runs and hope Davis falls of his homerun pace, he could win his second crown in a row.  Would that feat cement his status as one of the top hitters of all time?  How could it not?  In my opinion that list would be; Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, Rogers Hornsby, Tris Speaker, Stan Musial, Pete Rose, Lou Gehrig and Willie Mays.  At only 30 years old Cabrera still has as many as eight years left in baseball and if he can maintain his current pace he will have stats that will put him among the all-time greats.  
      Cabrera's stats to this point in his career break down like this: 1895 hits, 339 homeruns and 1192 RBI's in 1579 games, it averages out to be 1.2 hits per game, .025 homeruns per game and .75 RBI's per game.  If he plays those eight season he should get 1555 hits, 285 homeruns and 985 RBI's.  That would give him 3448 hits, 3rd all-time, 624 homeruns, 7th all-time, 2177 RBI's, 3rd all-time and should give him an average of .322, 35th all-time.  Three top tens and a top 40 in the four biggest offensive categories in baseball, those are what I would consider all-time great stats.  Only eight players are top ten in at least two of those four categories and only three of those players are top ten in three.  Ty Cobb is 2nd in hits, 7th in RBI's and 1st in average.  Hank Aaron is 3rd in hits, 2nd in homeruns and 1st in RBI's.  Babe Ruth is 3rd in homeruns, 2nd in RBI's and 8th in average.  the other five players are: Barry Bonds who is 1st in homeruns and 3rd in RBI's, Tris Speaker is 5th in hits and 4th in average, Stan Musial is 4th in hits and 5th in RBI's, Willie Mays is 4th in homeruns and tenth in RBI's and Alex Rodriguez is currently 5th in homeruns and 6th in RBI's.  That is pretty rare company and I think will assure Cabrera is considered one of baseball's greatest hitters.
      Players and coaches in the league now are already talking about how good Cabrera is.  When he is intentionally walked so a pitcher can face Prince Fielder, who is 7th in RBI's this year, what does that say about how managers feel about letting Cabrera hit in RBI situations?  When managers are putting a guy on to face another player who has a 50 homerun season to his credit that shows how good the rest of baseball thinks Cabrera is.  Since 2008 only Ichiro, with 1119 has had more hits then Cabrera with 960.  No one has hit as many homeruns as Cabrera's 183 or as many RBI's as Cabrera's 600.
      I don't know any other ways to say that Cabrera is the game's best hitter right now and I believe when it is all said and done, one of the best ever.