Detroit Tigers veteran Miguel Cabrera is set to retire this offseason. With that, he's making the rounds to say goodbye at each stadium before he departs with gifts, such as the Cleveland Guardians giving him a custom guitar and the Los Angeles Dodgers giving him his own Hollywood Star.
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These gifts are meant to be unique, extravagant and personalized. The Oakland A's did not get that memo, and the gift they presented to the two-time MVP was a bit problematic. Not only was Oakland frugal in gifting him a simple bottle of wine, but the team also didn't seem to have any awareness that Cabrera has past issues with alcoholism.
The Athletics gifted Miguel Cabrera an $80 bottle of wine
(h/t @gamer_athletics) pic.twitter.com/3M02cvllIT
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) September 22, 2023
The internet had a field day with this, naturally.
To be fair, this makes Miggy one of the highest paid players on the A’s roster
— Super Two Sports (@SuperTwoSports) September 22, 2023
What else can you expect.. They barely even pay the guys on their team lmao
— Huntibles (@Huntibles) September 22, 2023
These "goodbye tours" aren't uncommon for a player of Miggy's caliber.
On Thursday night, the Oakland Athletics, easily considered the MLB's laughingstock, gifted him some cabernet sauvignon from Caymus Vineyards. Sure, no one expects some grandiose massive gift, but it might've been beneficial to think about this one more.
Miguel Cabrera's Battle With Alcoholism is Well-Documented
Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images
In 2010, Cabrera spent three months in a treatment program. He faced legal issues involving alcohol in 2009 and 2011. The Tigers then won the division in 2012 and even went as far as to have a "chem-free" celebration with alcohol-free champagne. He also recently tallied his 3000th hit, where he had a non-alcoholic champagne, so it's still a practice he has in place to this day.
The A's are now the third team this season to gift Cabrera something alcohol-based. The Miami Marlins, who Cabrera played for from 2003-07, got him rum and a custom cigar box, while the Houston Astros gave him a bottle of wine. To be fair to the Astros, though, it was wine from a vineyard manager Dusty Baker owns, so we suppose there's some sentimentality there.
Cabrera's salary this season, by the way, is more than 50% of the Athletics' payroll.
The Tigers, who are mathematically eliminated from postseason contention, have nine games remaining this season, including this four-game series with the A's, a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals, and finally, a three-game home stretch to close out the season against the Guardians.
