One week shy of 16 years ago, Miguel Cabrera made his big league debut. He was 20 years-old, Vladimir Guerrero Jr was four.
Cabrera was called up to play for a very good Florida Marlins team, one that went on to win the World Series that year. Cabrera helped the cause very much, even if he hadn’t yet grown into the preeminent right-handed hitter of his generation.
Over the first 155 plate appearances of his career, Cabrera performed admirably as a 20-year-old in the big leagues. He posted a .250/.312/.479 slash line. He hit six home runs, 10 doubles while striking out 37 times and unintentionally walking on 10 occasions. He posted a 101 wRC+ over that span, finishing the year with a 106 wRC+.
After last night’s three-hit performance, Vlad Guerrero Jr is 157 plate appearances into his big league career. He owns a .255/.321/.448 slash line. He’s hit seven home runs, with six doubles while striking out 29 times and walking on 14 occasions. This morning, his wRC+ sits at 106.
They didn’t have Statcast in 2003, but surely Cabrera would’ve registered more than his share of barrels per plate appearance and 108 mph outs (as Guerrero managed last night in Baltimore.) Cabrera didn’t experience as many three-hit games as Guerrero to start his career (Vlad already has three), though he did manage a four-hit outing.
The Marlins’ rookie didn’t have as many multi-homer games in the early stages of his career (just one, while Guerrero has two) but Miggy did homer in his first ever game, for his first ever hit - to walk-off the Rays. (lol)
They are not the same players, but you’d have to work pretty hard to find a more apt comparison for the thick-legged Blue Jays third baseman than the current Tigers designated hitter and former thick-legged third baseman. Miggy wasn’t quite as big back then, and he’s a little taller than Vlad, but at the dish they have plenty in common - the highest praise imaginable. for the Jays franchise player.
Comparing a baseball player to Miguel Cabrera is patently unfair on its face. He's a two-time MVP, triple crown winner who will retire with career earnings upwards of a quarter billion dollars. He’s a first ballot Hall of Famer who also, somewhat quietly, brought his career back from the brink because of addiction.
But our brains see what we want them to see. Big dudes with smooth swings that create loud contact get—and keep—our attention. Then you look at Cabrera’s numerically generated comps and see…the inevitable.
Vlad Jr is his own person. He is his own player and his own man. He is not his father nor is he an eleven-time all star and four-time batting champ. But even the most even-keeled among us can’t help but let their mind wander and slot him among the legends, elevating him above his peers to the kind of player that lives long in the memory.