Back in 2003, the Miami Marlins (then the Florida Marlins) had a pretty decent team.
Those were the days in which the duo of speedsters Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo used to wreak havoc on the basepaths.
That, plus Ivan Rodriguez’s experience at catcher and the power of Mike Lowell and Derrek Lee made the Marlins a contender.
They were missing an impactful young bat, though, so they went through their minor league system and called up young infielder Miguel Cabrera.
Now, 20 years later, that kid is retiring from professional baseball having achieved everything there is to achieve in baseball.
In an 87-game cameo, Cabrera had 12 home runs and a .793 OPS to help the Marlins reach the playoffs.
There, he kept hitting until the World Series, where he famously took Roger Clemens deep to help his team win.
The Marlins said goodbye to their former player as he heads into retirement with a nice Twitter post.
Forever engraved in Marlins DNA #GraciasMiggy pic.twitter.com/TkcVx2z1wh
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) October 1, 2023
Cabrera played four-and-a-half seasons with the Marlins, and was traded to the Detroit Tigers before the start of the 2008 campaign.
In that period he became the star of the Marlins and went to four All-Star Games, won two Silver Slugger awards, and took home the 2003 World Series trophy.
With the Marlins, Cabrera hit .313/.388/.542 with 138 home runs, 523 RBI and a .929 OPS.
He became the symbol of a team with an important contingent of Latin fans, but the ever-rebuilding Marlins didn’t want to think about an extension and ended up trading him.
You could say with confidence that Cabrera achieved legendary status in two franchises.
NEXT: Luis Arraez Continued His Dominance In Miami