3,000 hit club: A closer look at Miguel Cabrera's Hall of Fame worthy MLB career

The time has finally come. Miguel Cabrera has cemented himself as one of the all-time greats and added to his historic list of accomplishments by reaching 3,000 hits. Much has been said about the future Hall of Famer's accolades that include a World Series title, a Triple Crown, back-to-back AL MVPs, seven Silver Slugger Awards, and eleven All-Star appearances.

Today, we take a look at the journey that "Miggy" made toward getting to 3,000 and the milestones and records he has achieved along the way.

Miguel Cabrera 3,000: By the numbers

1: Debut with a bang

June 20, 2003 was when Miggy's illustrious career kicked off. Cabrera recorded his first hit in grand fashion as he scored a game-winning home run in his big league debut against the Tampa Bay Rays.

He became only the third player since 1900 to do this feat after Billy Parker and Josh Bard in 1972 and 2002, respectively. It was just a sneak peak of what was about to come.

27: James Shields

James Shields after giving up a home run to Miguel Cabrera

Miguel Cabrera has recorded a hit against a grand total of 997 pitchers, but the 2011 All-Star pitcher — who coincidentally started his career in Tampa Bay — has the distinction of surrendering the most hits against Miguel Cabrera in his career with 27. The pitcher gave up a slash line of .380/.430/.690 with four homers and 12 RBIs in 71 at-bats to Cabrera.

100: 100 x 100

In April 20, 2004, Miguel Cabrera recorded his 100th hit in his 100th game as a major leaguer. He struck a liner to center against reliever Roberto Hernandez and the Philadelphia Phillies. The Marlins won the game at home, 3-1.

266: Cleveland Guardians

Miggy loves hitting against Cleveland

Of Miggy's 3,000 hits, he has pestered Cleveland the most. He has 266 base hits against the Guardians through his 20 MLB seasons. The Venezuelan has also recorded a base hit against all MLB teams and has done so in 41 venues from the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to the Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

843: Welcome to Comerica Park

Cabrera in his early days as a Tiger

In March 31, 2008, Miggy started off his Detroit Tigers debut with, you guessed it — a bang. He homered against All-Star pitcher Gil Meche in his third at-bat of the game. This came in vain, however, as the Tigers lost to the Kansas City Royals in eleven innings, 5-4.

1000: Another dinger for a thousand hits

Cabrera faced off against Glen Perkins and the Minnesota Twins in this September 7, 2008 matchup. On the first pitch he saw against the starter, he slammed it into the opposite field for his 32nd home run of the season. He would finish the season with 38 homers.

2000: Back-to-back MVP blast

You can probably call it a recurring theme for every thousand hits by Miggy. April 4, 2014 was the day he reached 2000 base hits, and this time, it was another dinger.

This is coming off the back of historic back-to-back MVP seasons in 2012 and 2013 for the Venezuelan. A feat that hasn't been done in the American League since Frank Thomas in 1993 and 1994.

2955: 500 home run club

Cabrera celebrates after hitting his 500th career home run

Toronto, Ontario, Canada was the sight of a historic event on August 22, 2021. Miguel Cabrera hit his 500th career home run against Blue Jays pitcher Steven Matz. This was his 2,955th career hit and got him into the 500 home run club, becoming only the 28th player in history to do so.