There will always be times when scouts blow it on top prospects in professional sports.
One of the best examples was when the Los Angeles Clippers didn’t draft Kobe Bryant because they thought the city of Los Angeles wouldn’t take them seriously if they drafted a 17-year-old kid.
But with Detroit Tigers legend Miguel Cabrera on the cusp of 3,000 career hits, it’s worth remembering that he was originally being scouted by the New York Yankees before he ended up with the Florida Marlins.
In a conversation with ESPN’s Marly Rivera, Cabrera revealed that when the Yankees were scouting him, they said they would only take him as a pitcher.
Miguel Cabrera said that when the Yankees scouted him at a young age, they told him that he could only be a pitcher, via @MarlyRiveraESPN.
Miggy has a chance of getting his 3,000th hit against them today. pic.twitter.com/FAf15EBd76
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 21, 2022
A Big Mistake
Boy, were they ever wrong.
The Yankees clearly blew it when scouting Cabrera.
As soon as he came up to the big leagues in 2003, he began mashing baseballs, proving how wrong the Yankees were when they made their initial assessment of Cabrera.
We can only imagine what could’ve been had the Yankees not completely blown it when they were scouting him.
A lineup featuring Cabrera, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez would have been a scary one.
That team might have just been unstoppable.
But we’ll never know what would’ve happened.
That Yankees team would have been fun to watch, but we’ll always be left wondering what might have been had the Yankees not blown it when scouting Cabrera.
And how fitting would it be for him to pick up his 3,000th career hit against the Yankees today?
It would be a little poetic justice and it would stick in the faces of Yankees’ fans.
We’ll see if he can get it done today.
NEXT: 2 Veteran Yankees Stars Reach An MLB Milestone