Detroit Tigers legend Miguel Cabrera to retire at the end of 2023 MLB season

For one last time, Miguel Cabrera will grace the MLB for a full regular season. The Detroit Tigers' legendary slugger has hinted this year that 2023 could be his last. He recently confirmed in an interview with MLB.com's Christina De Nicola ahead of his own foundation's gala night that will raise money for charity.

Expand Tweet

"It feels a little weird to say that," he said. "I thought I'm not going to say never, but I think it's time to say goodbye to baseball." - Miguel Cabrera via Christina De Nicola and Jason Beck

Cabrera had a historic 2022 season, becoming only the 33rd player in history to reach 3,000 hits. Just two weeks later, he hit his 600th double, joining Albert Pujols and Hank Aaron on an exclusive list of players with at least 3,000 hits, 600 doubles, and 500 home runs.

The future Hall-of-Famer was sparingly used in the Detroit Tigers' lost season. In 433 plate appearances, Cabrera batted .254/.305/.317 with five home runs and 43 RBIs.

Also in the interview, Cabrera shared that he wishes to remain healthy for his retirement season. He was temporarily shelved for a week in September when he had a left biceps strain.

Miguel Cabrera to suit up for Venezuela in World Baseball Classic

World Baseball Classic - Pool D - Game 7 - Venezuela v Italy

After appearing in all four prior editions of the World Baseball Classic, Miguel Cabrera will suit up one last time for his native Venezuela in the competition's fifth edition in 2023.

Venezuela only had one podium finish in the event that came in 2009 when they placed third. When the tournament kicks off on March 2023, Cabrera will be surrounded by a handful of MLB stars led by Jose Altuve, Andres Gimenez, and Salvador Perez.

Cabrera's Venezuela squad will play against the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Israel, and Nicaragua in Pool D. The matches are scheduled to be played at LoanDepot Park in Miami.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

Know More

Edited by Krutik Jain