Detroit — Comerica Park will play host to MiggyFest this weekend, as the Tigers’ play their final home series of the 2021 season against the Kansas City Royals.
Technically, it’s Fan Appreciation weekend, but on Friday, the club will honor Miguel Cabrera and celebrate his 500th career home run, which he hit in Toronto on Aug. 22.
“We are thrilled that the best fans in baseball will have the opportunity to celebrate Miguel Cabrera joining the iconic 500-home run club to begin fan appreciation weekend,” said Ellen Hill Zeringue, Vice President of Marketing for the Detroit Tigers. “We’ll have a unique fan giveaway, special guests, and the ballpark will be dressed to honor one of the greatest to ever wear the Olde English ‘D’.”
Among those expected to pay tribute during the ceremony, which will start at 6:30 p.m. ahead of the 7:10 p.m. start, is former manager Jim Leyland. The first 10,000 fans to enter the park will be presented with a commemorative comic book cover picturing Cabrera’s milestone blast.
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Tigers chairman and CEO Christopher Ilitch and general manager Al Avila will also be on the field for the ceremony.
“Miguel is putting up some really big numbers and passing some big thresholds,” manager AJ Hinch said earlier this week after Cabrera notched his 1,800th career RBI. “I think we are watching an incredible player, one who obviously is still contributing. It’s almost unfathomable when you look at the numbers he’s accumulating.”
Cabrera was the 28th player in major league history to join the 500 home run club, and the first to hit No. 500 wearing a Tigers’ uniform. His 1,800 RBIs ranks 20th all-time. He is also now just 21 hits shy of 3,000 and five double away from 600.
Only two players have reached 3,000 hits, 500 homers and 600 doubles — Hank Aaron and Albert Pujols.
In addition to MiggyFest, a pair of Tigers players will sign a limited number of autographs before the games on Friday and Saturday. More than 500 prizes will be randomly distributed throughout the weekend.
The Tigers, who are 41-36 at Comerica Park this season, will conclude their home schedule at 1:10 p.m. on Monday against the White Sox, the make-up of the game that was postponed on Wednesday.
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com.
Twitter: @cmccosky
On deck: Royals at Tigers
►Series: Three games at Comerica Park
►First pitch: Friday 7:10 p.m.; Saturday — 6:10 p.m.; Sunday — 12:10 p.m.
►TV/radio: Friday-Sunday — BSD, 97.1
►Probables: Friday — RHP Carlos Hernandez (6-2, 3.90) vs. RHP Casey Mize (7-8, 3.64); Saturday — RHP Jon Heasley (0-1, 9.00) vs. LHP Tarik Skubal (8-12, 4.25); Sunday — LHP Kris Bubic (5-6, 4.80) vs. Wily Peralta (4-3, 3.04).
►Hernandez, Royals: He can dominate with his 97-mph fastball (four-seam and two-seam), but his success is predicated on his ability to throw secondary pitches in, or at least, near the zone. They got him for five runs in four innings back in July, exploiting four walks. He’s coming off a start against Oakland where he gave up seven in four innings, with four walks.
►Mize, Tigers: In his last start at Tampa, he limited the Rays to a run with a heavy dose of four-seam fastballs — 49% over his three innings. It was another example of one of Mize’s greatest attributes. His five-pitch mix is so trustworthy, he can adapt it to exploit the whatever weaknesses a lineup may present him.
— Chris McCosky