Miguel Cabrera Had No Idea That He Hit The First Home Run Of The 2021 MLB Season Because Of A Blizzard In Detroit

Miguel Cabrera made a conscious effort to slim down in the offseason and the results are already paying off. He was listed at 249 pounds last season and showed up to spring training about 25 pounds lighter, with hopes of getting back to elite form in the later portion of his career. The 37-year-old baseman began his quest on a high note. He stepped up to the plate in his first at-bat of the 2021 season and crushed his 448th career home run over the right field wall— but he didn’t know it was gone and slid into second after hustling on the base path.

As Cabrera stepped up to the plate in Detroit, the temperature sat around 30 degrees with a fairly significant snowfall. The players took the field with overcast skies, but as the game began, the snow started to come down.

Thus, when Miggy got up to the plate, he couldn’t see the “biggest snowflake of them all” as it flew over the fence and got on his horse. His speed was never significant to begin with, and at almost 40, it’s nearly nonexistent, so he legged out what he thought was a double. After sliding into the bag, the hit was called a home run and he headed home.

The home run was reviewed and determined to be a home run, which was the first of the 2021 season by any player on any team. It made for a beautiful visual.

Miggy’s first dinger of the year also came just a few days after his 9-year-old son Chris hit his first-ever home run!

Like father, like son. The elder Cabrera will look to keep his hot start going on a Tigers team that isn’t expected to contend for the World Series, but could be pretty good relatively quickly with young pitching and a rebuilt core. If Miggy can get back to his younger form, who’s to say that Detroit won’t be the surprise team this year?