We flash back to this day in 2013, the Detroit Tigers were in the Bronx taking on the New York Yankees. Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth, and a runner on second, reigning American League MVP and Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera steps to the dish, opposing MLB’s all-time saves leader Mariano Rivera.
What ensued from that point forward was an epic “clash of the titans” type of battle. It was a 7-pitch at-bat where Cabrera fouled off multiple pitches off his leg against the ‘Sandman’ himself. But in the seventh pitch of the at-bat, he finally got the better of him.
As Mario Impemba says in the beginning, “this is what you pay to see.”
Miggy was 0 for 4 all-time against Rivera coming into that at-bat. Unfortunately, the Tigers could not complete the comeback as they fell 4-3 in 10 innings.
According to win expectancy via Baseball-Reference, this at-bat presented the biggest change in WPA (win probably added). Before the AB, the Yankees were given a 96 percent chance to win the game in that particular situation. Post-Miggy homer, that probability of a New York win dipped to 60 percent.
BONUS CONTENT:
Top 15 “Miggy Moments” in Detroit
Miguel Cabrera, “Miggy” as he’s called, is one of the greatest right-handed hitters in the game of baseball–possibly of all-time. His swing is quite simply a beautiful thing to behold. And best of all, he seems like a large kid when he’s on the diamond. We should all be quite thankful we have been afforded the opportunity to see one of the greats play for our team. And, the best part of all, he’s not done yet!
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