Miguel Cabrera
Since coming to Detroit, Miguel Cabrera has dazzled. In 2008, his first year, he hit a very respectable .292. The following years, he batted an impressive .324, 328, .344 and on and on and on.
But at 34, he's not getting younger and is working on a second act. Bob Wojnowksi of The Detroit News writes:
He still smiles a lot and laughs a lot. He also winces more these days, as the years and aches pile up. Miguel Cabrera has played the game a long time and hit as fearsomely as almost anyone in the history of baseball, but he feels the pinch of time.
So he’s doing what he has done for 13 major-league seasons, with a playfulness that belies his seriousness. He’s preparing for the next game, steadily and studiously, with a business venture that fits his personality.
They’re called Miggy’s Bitbits, sweet crisped rice covered in chocolate, the lead item in the new line of Miggy Foods. It’s candy at the core, but like Cabrera himself, it goes deeper than the fun exterior.
There will be Miggy candy bars, more Miggy clothing items and Miggy shoes. Who knows, there might be a Miggy restaurant at some point. He launched the venture Friday before the Tigers opened their series against Texas, and the contrast was notable. He’s sidelined with an oblique muscle pull — he hopes to be back as soon as this weekend — after dealing with a strained back in spring training, then missing nine games with a groin strain.
None of the injuries have been as serious as the sports hernia surgery and calf strain that tormented him in recent years. And let’s be very clear here — Cabrera, 34, isn’t retiring anytime soon. His $240-million contract expires in 2023, when he’ll be 40, and he said he hopes to keep playing (as a DH) until 42 or 43.
Four flavors of Bitbits (below) are sold at Comerica Park Evan Woodbery, Tigers beat writer for MLive Media Group, tweets that they taste like a Nestle's Crunch chocolate bar.
