Arcedys Naranjo @arcedyss - Twitter Profile

I knew this day was coming, knew I’d never be ready for it. Miguel Cabrera is the main reason I fell in love with the Tigers and baseball as a whole. Before social media, I heard about the December 2007 trade via a family member who followed the team much closer than I did at the time. My uncle said, “the Tigers got one of the best hitters in baseball!” It didn’t take long for 13-year old me to realize exactly what he meant. And very shortly into the 2008 season, I knew Miguel was “my” Tiger. Because there’s no player like Miggy. There may be hitters with similar god-given abilities, but the sense of humor and overwhelming joy he displayed on the field is what set him apart. He looked like a big kid effortlessly playing a game amongst men fighting their asses off just to keep up. I always assured to remind myself of this during his prime: “Hey, don’t take this for granted. One day you’re going to blink and his career will be ending.” Well, here we are. It just felt like he would play forever, right? He’s been my sports hero for the last 16 years of my life, and I’ve never known a Tigers team without him on it. I know no one is bigger than the game, but not seeing his smiling face in spring training next March is going to be the weirdest feeling ever. The last few years weren’t ideal, but I hope Tiger fans realize what we got to witness as a whole over the last 16 years. I’m so thankful Detroit was the team that acquired and enabled him to lead us to one the greatest nine-year stretches of competitive baseball in Tigers’ history. I’m not ready to say goodbye to his playing career, but I also know it’s time. This I cliché, but it’s true -- don’t cry because his legendary career is about to be over, smile because we all got to watch one of the best to ever pick up a baseball bat. I’ll still watch the Tigers and the sport as a whole after this season, but baseball simply won’t be the same without Miguel Cabrera. He brought so much joy to so many. You could always count on him. He’s the player you’ll be telling your grandkids about. And there’s never going to be another like him. Thank you for everything, Miguel. #GraciasMiggy #MonthOfMiggy #RepDetroit