Thanks, Miggy – Revisiting Cabrera’s greatness in this final weekend

The baseball world and, more specifically, fans of the Detroit Tigers are witnessing the end of an era this weekend. Legendary Tiger and all-but-destined future Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera will conclude his storied 21-year career, including 16 seasons with the Tigers.

Jennifer and I feel blessed that we closely followed his amazing time with the Tigers. We even watched him play in two games, saw him up close and personal during pre-game batting practice, and even got to sit in his triple crown throne at Comerica Park.

In honor of “Miggy Celebration Weekend” and for everything Cabrera did for baseball, the city of Detroit, and the two of us living with Multiple Sclerosis, we are reposting my essay from April 22, 2022, “Cabrera’s 3,000 hits: Our Major League lesson in living with MS.”

Cabrera’s 3,000 hits: Our Major League lesson in living with MS

Miguel Cabrera did more than make baseball history with one swing of his bat Saturday afternoon.

In becoming only the seventh Major League Baseball player to ever collect 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, the Detroit Tigers legend and future Hall of Famer reminded Jennifer and me that overall success doesn’t happen overnight.

This kind of success takes patience, persistence, determination and time. Such a lesson goes beyond baseball and extends into our lives with Multiple Sclerosis.

But this learning for us didn’t come about just because of what Cabrera did with his 3,000th hit on April 23, 2022. It actually was something he did on August 10, 2019.

MS4MS and on the field with Cabrera

We had the unimaginable opportunity in 2019 to participate in the Mission Stadiums for Multiple Sclerosis event in Detroit to watch the Tigers take on the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park.

MS4MS is a non-profit organization that hosts events nationwide to increase MS awareness and raise money to support research at top MS research centers.

It was more than a regular game for us thanks to MS4MS Founder and CEO Sam Greenberg. In addition to inviting us to join nearly 60 other MS warriors from Michigan at the game, we were among those who got to go down on the field to watch the Tigers take batting practice before the game.

We were excited to see all of the Tigers, but let’s be real: Our hearts were set on seeing Cabrera, or, as all players and Tiger fans graciously call him: Miggy.

I mean, Miggy was a huge part of Detroit’s playoff runs between 2011 and 2014, which includes the 2012 season when he won baseball’s elusive Triple Crown for leading the league in home runs, runs batted in and batting average.

He’s the humblest of players, but for Jennifer and me, Miggy stood out like a giant among the other Tigers warming up for that game. A truly unforgettable moment. The actual result of that game wasn’t quite as memorable ­– our beloved Tigers got shut out 7-0.

We hadn’t really paid attention to individual specifics about that game until Miggy was on the precipice of 3,000 hits in 2022.

‘Hey, Jennifer! Can you Google the box score of that game?’

It’s as though I have a stream-of-consciousness-knee-jerk reaction when I have a thought pop into my head, and Jennifer instantly becomes my de facto Siri/Alexa. It’s a lot easier to ask Jennifer because she’s better at getting the context and specifics of what I’m looking for.

I made my case to my beloved wife: “Think about it: wouldn’t it have been something really special if Miggy would have had even just ONE HIT in that game we saw, and we forever could say we saw him hit one of this 3,000 career hits?!” In her kind and compassionate heart, Jennifer did the research, and she didn’t disappoint.

Neither did Miggy.

Yes, in the only game we’ve seen him play, Miggy went 1 for 4. One hit in a 7-0 loss. But more important: It was one of his 3,000 hits in his illustrious career, and we were there to see it.

I sat and stared at the lonely number “1” in the line of Miggy’s results from that game’s box score. One lonely hit that seemed so pointless in the Tiger’s lackluster 47-114 record for the 2019 season.

But without this “pointless” hit and all the other seemingly insignificant singles throughout his career, Miggy never would have come close to reaching this pinnacle hit total that only 33 other MLB greats have tallied.

Slow and steady wins the race, right?

Every single success counts in baseball & MS

We were quick to see how Miggy’s success is somewhat similar to the way we need to continue approaching how we live with Multiple Sclerosis.

Jennifer and I have had MS for 24 and 22 years, respectively. Throughout this time, we’ve seen how each day is not that unlike a baseball game. Some days we flourish and win big against MS, while other days we struggle and are shut out by this wicked disease.

But with everything positive that we do, we’re collectively doing all that we can to stay ahead of this disease.

Whether it’s going for a walk or working on our range of motion. Drinking the water we need or eating well-balanced meals. Getting a good night’s sleep or taking a needed break. Asking for help when we need it or helping others who are in greater need.

These are so incredibly important to focus on each day, no matter whether we’re winning or struggling against MS. Because no matter the outcome of the day, you will come out ahead overall.

Do I need to remind you of the time we saw Miggy go 1 for 4 in a 7-0 Detroit loss to Kansas City that season the Tigers finished 47-114?

As the baseball world celebrated his 3,000 hits, nobody talked about things like the number of times Miggy struck out, left runners stranded on base or hit into double plays. They all were focused on his successes and all it took for him to reach this epic milestone.

Why then, aren’t those of us who are living with MS not collectively looking beyond things like the number of times we’ve fallen, got to the restroom two minutes too late or were confused because of cog fog? We all should instead be focusing on our accomplishments and all we’re doing to put MS in its place.

I’m not saying we should ignore the negatives that come in living with MS (even Miggy does his homework on his opposing teams and pitchers). I’m just saying we need to pay more attention to the positives that we bring to and take away from our game with MS.

Oh yeah! And another HUGE factor that connects what Miggy achieved in baseball to what we each do in living with MS? He, like us, isn’t winning or losing anything alone. We each are part of greater teams that have our backs and wants us each to succeed.

He has a team of talented baseball players, and those of us living with MS have strong teams that include everyone from family members to friends, physicians, healthcare providers and physical therapists. Such support from our teams helps to give us the patience, persistence, determination and time to realize our overall greatness through each single moment of success.