Forgiving Miguel Cabrera

The Tigers annual winter caravan rolled through the metro Detroit area this week. Players and coaches visited soup kitchens, book stores, factories and Metro Airport among other places. The caravan is about publicity, about marketing, about connecting the team to the fans in a different way, a way that can’t be achieved at the ballpark.

While it’s too early to tell if the tour has had any tangible effect on ticket sales, I’m ready to call the caravan a success in at least one regard – it’s where the Tigers rolled out their new first baseman, who looks a lot like their old first baseman, but not really.

As Miguel Cabrera answered questions about his drunken debacle last fall, and subsequent counseling and treatment for alcohol related issues, the faces of the writers surrounding him told the story. If you couldn’t see it in his face then you could certainly see it in theirs, he was different.

The young, gruff, sometimes overtly difficult manchild who spoke to the media only when necessary had given way to something new. He was humble. He was mature. He was softer around the edges. He was, for lack of a better term, sober to the realities surrounding his future, on and off the baseball diamond.

Michael Rosenberg of the Freep described the experience superbly in his article when he wrote:

This Cabrera smiled. He laughed. He looked comfortable in the middle of a media pack. He was so open, so honest about his flaws and so self-effacing that I really don’t know what else he could have done to convince people he has changed.

Convincing people he has in fact changed seems to be high on his priority list. Not just his teammates, his coaches and bosses – but his fans and detractors alike. As for his family, that has always been his business, and always will be, but I would venture to guess that everyone close to him can see the positive changes that have come about so far.

At a time when he must have known that every writer in the room would ask the same questions, hard questions, he was prepared to answer with more than a cookie cutter quote put together by his agents and public relations staff. He was real. He spoke from the heart. He talked about being a better player, yes, but also of being a better father and husband.

He hasn’t had a drink since that awful night in early October when he ended up in a police station with scratches on his face, and his reputation. Since then he’s undergone counseling, as often as 3-4 times per week, and has done it willingly, not begrudgingly. He has and will continue to work with his doctor on his sobriety. He admitted he had a problem and is dealing with it.

He has made peace with his teammates, at least it seems that way. If there is any lingering resentment out there amongst his peers it wasn’t evident Thursday. Now all that’s left is to walk the walk. Soon he’ll have the chance to do just that, to atone for his misgivings in the only tangible way most fans care about – on the field.

One would assume that the efforts Cabrera has undertaken to deal with his alcohol issues will lead to a healthier, better prepared ballplayer, although there is no guarantee. If there is in fact significant improvement on the field of play then the baseball world should be put on notice – for Miguel was already an elite talent. If his maturity is now on par with his physical gifts, well, let’s just say we could be in for one hell of a show. If he falters however, in his recovery or his swing, the naysayers will be waiting.

For the fact remains that all the counseling in the world won’t stave off the throngs of spectators, I won’t even call them fans, that will sit on the edge of their seats waiting for him to strike out so they can jump to their feet and heckle him. And they will. Some at home, more on the road, but the boo birds will still be out there.

He’ll have to deal with them. No way around it. From what I’ve seen of this new Miguel Cabrera so far I expect he’ll do just fine. I also expect that enough Tigers fans will recognize his repent as genuine to ease the burden a bit.

Ultimately Miguel alone will decide how it all plays out. While he can not silence every critic in one fell swoop, or even perhaps ever, he certainly has the chance do the lions share of the job by doing what he does best – playing baseball.

It’s why we watch, why we cheer, even why we boo. Let’s face it, if he were one of the factory workers the Tigers visited with Thursday none of us would know or care how much he drank, who he drank with and what he did when he got home to his wife. But he’s a ballplayer, a celebrity, so we feel entitled to be voyeurs. He’s rich, so we feel he owes us something. Our own jealousy and resentment can rear its’ ugly head in many ways. When it turns out one of the most well known athletes in a blue collar town is far from perfect, the demons come out, for him and for us.

It’s the way it is, and he knows it, now more than ever.

He knows he screwed up. He knows he opened the door to ridicule and embarrassment for the rest of his life. He knows he was very close to losing everything he holds dear. He knows he has a problem and he needs help to address it.

And he is addressing it. He is working on it. So cut him a little slack. Give the kid a break, a second chance. He’s earned it.

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Tags: Detroit Tigers, Miguel Cabrera