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Miguel Cabrera has yet to earn his 3,000th career hit, despite four more plate appearances for the Detroit Tigers star Thursday afternoon.
The star slugger was hitless in his first three at-bats in the final game of the Tigers vs. New York Yankees series. In his final at-bat, Lucas Luetge intentionally walked Cabrera, snubbing him of another chance at the feat.
Although Tigers fans were livid and extremely vocal about it, Detroit manager A.J. Hinch wasn't surprised at all.
Tigers beat reporter Jason Beck tweeted Hinch's postgame quote Thursday afternoon.
A.J. Hinch said he had "zero doubt" Cabrera was getting walked.
"Boonie's obligation is to his own team and their chances of winning. He had the matchup behind Miggy that he wanted. So you could see it coming. I know our fans responded accordingly, but I totally get it."
— Jason Beck (@beckjason) April 21, 2022
Not only did Hinch expect Cabrera to be walked, but the manager claims that he had “zero doubt” about it.
From a managing perspective, it definitely made sense for Aaron Boone to make that call. His team was down 1-0, and Cabrera is a huge threat at the plate with two men in scoring position. And, to be fair, Boone gave Cabrera three chances earlier in the game.
In hindsight, it wouldn't have mattered if Cabrera was walked or not, because Austin Meadows hit a double directly after he took his spot on first. The double brought home two runs, leaving Cabrera on third.
Fortunately, Cabrera still has plenty of time to earn his spot in as the 33rd member of the 3,000 club. He'll have his next chance in the Tigers' upcoming home series against the Colorado Rockies. The three-game series begins Friday night.
