Miguel Cabrera was one of baseball's better comeback stories in 2010 in his battle back from alcohol and personal issues, but an apparent decision he made on Wednesday night revealed that he may still be battling demons. The Tigers slugger was arrested on charges of driving under the influence after a traffic stop in Fort Pierce, Fla.
The Tigers have not commented on the incident. But it was a massive surprise to teammates who saw Cabrera seemingly change his life last year and post an MVP-caliber season.
"I'm in shock, man," said Carlos Guillen, a fellow Venezuelan as well as a teammate and friend of Cabrera. He didn't know about the arrest until he was told by reporters.
According to an arrest report published by the Treasure Coast Newspapers, a St. Lucie County police deputy pulled over Cabrera around 11 p.m. ET Wednesday upon spotting smoke coming out of the engine of the car he was driving. Cabrera reportedly smelled of alcohol, and his speech was slurred. The sheriff's office reported that he took a drink from a bottle of scotch he had in the car.
Additional deputies were called to the scene when he was ruled uncooperative, according to the police report.
"Do you know who I am? You don't know anything about my problems," Cabrera told officers, according to the report.
Cabrera was booked into St. Lucie County jail, where he spent the night before being released on $1,350 bail Thursday morning. It was not known who picked him up.
The Tigers had no official comment on the arrest, but manager Jim Leyland held a closed-door meeting with players Thursday morning just before the scheduled workout for pitchers and catchers.
Cabrera apparently had spent time earlier Wednesday finishing up his offseason workout in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Cabrera lives in South Florida, and he spent the offseason working out almost daily with teammates Magglio Ordonez and Alex Avila before heading back to Venezuela two weeks ago. He was expected to head to Lakeland, Fla., sometime in the next day or two ahead of the team's first full-squad workout Saturday.
"I've known Miguel for a long time," Avila said Thursday afternoon. "I'm as shocked as everybody."
It was not known why Cabrera would've been in Fort Pierce on Wednesday.
Cabrera's arrest comes about 17 months after police responded to an alleged incident involving Cabrera and his wife in October 2009 in suburban Detroit. No charges were filed, but Cabrera was held overnight in that situation after registering a .26 blood-alcohol level. The incident occurred in the final weekend of the regular season, with the Tigers in the midst of a playoff race with the Twins.
Cabrera played hours later and finished out the season, but met with team officials afterward and agreed to undergo counseling. He reported to camp the next spring talking about having made changes and being better able to handle the pressures in his life.
"I'm still young," Cabrera said a year ago. "I'm still learning a lot from baseball and from life. So right now, I'm going to take the right steps for my life. Right now I feel comfortable with what I'm going to do. That's why I feel excited. I feel positive for that."
He went on to arguably the best season of his career, batting .326 with 38 homers and 126 RBIs and finishing second in voting for the American League Most Valuable Player Award.
More important to Guillen and many others, he had turned a corner in his life.
"I always tell my kids, it's not about one day. You have to be the same person, every day," Guillen said Thursday. "It's something you have to keep in your mind for the rest of your life -- to be a better person. I know it's not easy, but you have to think that way every day, learn from the mistakes you make in your life and go from there.
"But I know he's a good kid, a really good kid. He's one of my favorite players. I know he's younger than me, but I haven't seen many guys like him in the big leagues. I think he's still young and he can make an adjustment."
Guillen was asked whether he's concerned about Cabrera.
"Yeah, I'm worried about him," Guillen replied, "because he's got a lot of talent. He's got the potential to be a Hall of Famer one day. Sometimes you have people around you that are not good for you. You think they're your friends, but they're not really friends.
JUPITER, Fla. -- St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright will have Tommy John surgery on his right elbow and miss the entire season.
Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak confirmed the news Thursday at the team's spring training facility in Jupiter, Fla. He said he learned the severity of the injury Wednesday night after the 29-year-old pitcher sought a second opinion from Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles.
LAKELAND, Fla. -- Miguel Cabrera will enter a treatment program set up by doctors administered by Major League Baseball and its players' union. The Detroit Tigers slugger reported to spring training Thursday for the first time since he was arrested last week on suspicion of drunken driving.
MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred said Cabrera "understands that any future alcohol-related incidents could involve more serious consequences."
Detroit was to hold a news conference later Thursday.
The 27-year-old was arrested Feb. 16 on suspicion of driving under the influence and resisting an officer without violence, both misdemeanors. He is set to be arraigned on March 16.
Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said last week that Cabrera would undergo treatment before he would report to camp. The Tigers position players reported on Feb. 18.
I hate that dude. I can at least respect pujols. Carpenter is a bitch every time he is in town. And that is part of the reason there was a big fight between the reds and cardinals last year Brandon Phillips called it as he saw it
You tryin to be a hero fool? You wanna see badass mother fucker?! I'll show ya a badass!!!
Nah I listen to the games. I'm not willing to jail break my phone to get around blackouts. But it is an awesome app. Any baseball game I can listen to with any teams broadcast. News from every team stats. Everything baseball. I can also watch other teams games just not the reds
You tryin to be a hero fool? You wanna see badass mother fucker?! I'll show ya a badass!!!
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Miguel Cabrera was one of baseball's better comeback stories in 2010 in his battle back from alcohol and personal issues, but an apparent decision he made on Wednesday night revealed that he may still be battling demons. The Tigers slugger was arrested on charges of driving under the influence after a traffic stop in Fort Pierce, Fla.
The Tigers have not commented on the incident. But it was a massive surprise to teammates who saw Cabrera seemingly change his life last year and post an MVP-caliber season.
"I'm in shock, man," said Carlos Guillen, a fellow Venezuelan as well as a teammate and friend of Cabrera. He didn't know about the arrest until he was told by reporters.
According to an arrest report published by the Treasure Coast Newspapers, a St. Lucie County police deputy pulled over Cabrera around 11 p.m. ET Wednesday upon spotting smoke coming out of the engine of the car he was driving. Cabrera reportedly smelled of alcohol, and his speech was slurred. The sheriff's office reported that he took a drink from a bottle of scotch he had in the car.
Additional deputies were called to the scene when he was ruled uncooperative, according to the police report.
"Do you know who I am? You don't know anything about my problems," Cabrera told officers, according to the report.
Cabrera was booked into St. Lucie County jail, where he spent the night before being released on $1,350 bail Thursday morning. It was not known who picked him up.
The Tigers had no official comment on the arrest, but manager Jim Leyland held a closed-door meeting with players Thursday morning just before the scheduled workout for pitchers and catchers.
Cabrera apparently had spent time earlier Wednesday finishing up his offseason workout in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Cabrera lives in South Florida, and he spent the offseason working out almost daily with teammates Magglio Ordonez and Alex Avila before heading back to Venezuela two weeks ago. He was expected to head to Lakeland, Fla., sometime in the next day or two ahead of the team's first full-squad workout Saturday.
"I've known Miguel for a long time," Avila said Thursday afternoon. "I'm as shocked as everybody."
It was not known why Cabrera would've been in Fort Pierce on Wednesday.
Cabrera's arrest comes about 17 months after police responded to an alleged incident involving Cabrera and his wife in October 2009 in suburban Detroit. No charges were filed, but Cabrera was held overnight in that situation after registering a .26 blood-alcohol level. The incident occurred in the final weekend of the regular season, with the Tigers in the midst of a playoff race with the Twins.
Cabrera played hours later and finished out the season, but met with team officials afterward and agreed to undergo counseling. He reported to camp the next spring talking about having made changes and being better able to handle the pressures in his life.
"I'm still young," Cabrera said a year ago. "I'm still learning a lot from baseball and from life. So right now, I'm going to take the right steps for my life. Right now I feel comfortable with what I'm going to do. That's why I feel excited. I feel positive for that."
He went on to arguably the best season of his career, batting .326 with 38 homers and 126 RBIs and finishing second in voting for the American League Most Valuable Player Award.
More important to Guillen and many others, he had turned a corner in his life.
"I always tell my kids, it's not about one day. You have to be the same person, every day," Guillen said Thursday. "It's something you have to keep in your mind for the rest of your life -- to be a better person. I know it's not easy, but you have to think that way every day, learn from the mistakes you make in your life and go from there.
"But I know he's a good kid, a really good kid. He's one of my favorite players. I know he's younger than me, but I haven't seen many guys like him in the big leagues. I think he's still young and he can make an adjustment."
Guillen was asked whether he's concerned about Cabrera.
"Yeah, I'm worried about him," Guillen replied, "because he's got a lot of talent. He's got the potential to be a Hall of Famer one day. Sometimes you have people around you that are not good for you. You think they're your friends, but they're not really friends.
Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak confirmed the news Thursday at the team's spring training facility in Jupiter, Fla. He said he learned the severity of the injury Wednesday night after the 29-year-old pitcher sought a second opinion from Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles.
LAKELAND, Fla. -- Miguel Cabrera will enter a treatment program set up by doctors administered by Major League Baseball and its players' union.
The Detroit Tigers slugger reported to spring training Thursday for the first time since he was arrested last week on suspicion of drunken driving.
MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred said Cabrera "understands that any future alcohol-related incidents could involve more serious consequences."
Detroit was to hold a news conference later Thursday.
The 27-year-old was arrested Feb. 16 on suspicion of driving under the influence and resisting an officer without violence, both misdemeanors. He is set to be arraigned on March 16.
Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said last week that Cabrera would undergo treatment before he would report to camp. The Tigers position players reported on Feb. 18.
LOL