Can Cabrera Hit 700 HRs? 'Sometimes I'm Scared'
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
Note: The principal interview for this story was conducted in Spanish. Cabrera answered questions in both Spanish and English.
CBS DETROIT - Even on days like Saturday, when Miguel Cabrera launched his 400th home run, hitting a milestone along with the baseball, Cabrera does not think about his legacy.
"No, no, not yet," Cabrera said Tuesday, a few days removed from the benchmark homer. "I think I've got a long way to go, so I always ask God to give me strength, to give me everything to go out there and be healthy and try to do my best."
The man Cabrera passed to become the leading Venezuelan home run hitter of all time, Andres Galarraga, has thought about Cabrera's legacy.
"I have no doubt Miguel can hit 700 home runs," Galarraga told Venezuelan media in a teleconference recently, according to Ignacio Serrano of El Emergente. "In these next 10 years he's going to hit a lot of home runs."
Galarraga has also said that if Cabrera stays healthy he could surpass Barry Bonds, who has 762 career home runs, as the greatest home run hitter of all time.
Does Cabrera agree with that assessment?
"In this stadium, no," Cabrera said Tuesday, laughing. "It's very big, this stadium.
"If they bring in the stadium - maybe," Cabrera joked, chuckling again.
The famously fun-loving first baseman turned serious for a moment, saying he feels a lot of pride to hear such an endorsement from Galarraga.
"I hope he's right," Cabrera said.
When Cabrera talked last week, sitting by his locker after a two-homer game that put him within one homer of Galarraga's record, Cabrera spoke on what it is like to be at the same place, in terms of career statistics, as a player he admired so much when he was young.
"Time goes quick," Cabrera said. "I feel like my first year, it was last year. Sometimes I'm scared because I don't want to stop playing baseball, you know?"
Cabrera laughed after that remark and continued.
"I want the time to stop right here," Cabrera said. "I'm 32 - stop! - and keep playing ... Time goes too fast, man."
Cabrera is currently 52nd on the all-time list for career home runs.
