Not really missing Dave Bergman

It didn’t take long for that same “coach” to realize that, at age six, the greatest value in having someone who could consistently catch a ball thrown his way was at first base and not catcher.  Although I’m pretty sure we weren’t keeping score and every kid got an at-bat every inning, even a parent volunteer can’t resist his competitive nature sometimes and wants to put his best lineup out there.  So I spent my first and only season ever at first base. 

First base was the only position I never really felt comfortable playing.  I was always worried that the base runner was going to stomp on my Achilles for some reason.  Furthermore, I was born with an eye condition known as amblyopia (or lazy eye, if you want to be a jerk about it).  Structurally, my right eye was completely normal.  However, the pathway between my brain and my right eye never developed properly.  Thus, my vision out of that eye has always been extremely blurry and basically used for peripheral vision only.  This is strictly theoretical, but perhaps that’s the reason I never felt comfortable standing on the field at first base.  I just didn’t have a good view of the rest of the diamond.   As I reflect on more competitive stages of my playing career, I also like to blame my eyen condition for my inability to recognize a curveball coming out of the pitcher’s hand, resulting in more humiliating swings & misses at bouncing off-speed pitches in the dirt than I’d care to admit.   

While there are plenty of reasons outside of my eyesight that led to me being just a marginal hitter, I always thought guys like Manny Ramirez and Barry Bonds must have had bionic vision.  Regardless of your feelings about Manny and/or Bonds in terms of their associations with PEDs, I was always mesmerized by their ability to lay off fringe pitches, even with two strikes.  If I had two strikes on me, I was swinging at pretty much anything I could get my bat on.  Manny and Bonds had the rare ability to remain disciplined, and even selective, despite being behind in the count against Major League pitching.  Their career power numbers may be inflated, one could argue, but their approaches at the plate were special to watch and I still consider them to be the best all-around hitters of my generation.

The Tigers are fortunate to have a guy in that echelon manning first base.  It’s hard to believe Miguel Cabrera will turn 35 just a few weeks into the 2018 season.  I can remember when he burst onto the scene as a 20-year old in the 2003 post-season.  Last year was a nightmare for Miggy, hampered by injuries and a losing culture.  It was the worst offensive output of his illustrious career, and by a longshot.  A career .317 hitter who hadn’t hit below .313 since his .292 effort in ’08, his first season in the American League, Cabrera turned in a painful .249-16-60 line in ’17.  While he always appears to be having fun, some of the spark was missing in Miggy’s game last year.  He looked out of shape, and I started to think maybe he was about to begin a farewell tour of his own.  However, on February 5^th, he posted a video on Twitter showing a glimpse into his workout regimen and I must say, he looks like that baby-faced 20-year old again.  We need that Miggy.