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Detroit Tigers striker Miguel Cabrera becomes the seventh MLB player with 3,000 goals, 500 Homer

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  • Marley Rivera ESPN screenwriter

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      Marley Rivera is a writer for ESPNdeportes.com and ESPN.com.

With a single against Colorado Rockies on Saturday, Miguel Cabrera became the club’s 33rd member with 3,000 strokes and only the seventh player in major league history to reach the cornerstone and score 500 home runs.

He scored 3,000 in the first inning against Venezuelan pitcher Antonio Senzatella by grounding the opposite field one to the right.

Cabrera immediately raised her right hand as she headed for first base. The crowd at Comerica Park applauded him and fireworks erupted from the dashboard.

After reaching 2,999 goals on Wednesday, Cabrera was 0-for-3 on Thursday against the New York Yankees before being deliberately eliminated in the eighth inning, his fourth and final appearance in the game. The pursuit of Cabrera’s story was postponed on Friday as the Tigers’ scheduled start against the Rockies failed, as part of Saturday’s match.

The 39-year-old Cabrera is the first Venezuelan-born player and the seventh Latino to reach the 3,000-mark mark, a list that includes Hall of Fame members Roberto Clemente and Rod Carew, as well as Rafael Palmeiro, Alex Rodriguez, Adrian Beltre and Albert Puyol. Luis Aparicio, the only Venezuelan-born player in the Hall of Fame, has 2,677 career goals.

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Cabrera, who won the Triple Crown and the first consecutive MVP award in 2012, became the 28th member of the 500 home run club in August. Only six other players have 3,000 goals and 500 Homer: Hank Aaron, Willie Mace, Palmeiro, Puyols, Rodriguez and Eddie Murray.

In 2012, Cabrera became the first player in 45 years to win the Triple Crown, being the leader in the American League in the average level of strokes, home runs and RBI.

Cabrera was 20 when he made his major league debut with the Marlins in 2003. He helped them win the World Series that same year.

The Tigers acquired Cabrera in a 2007 deal, and Dontrel Willis also went to Detroit in a deal for Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin. Cabrera had 842 hits at the time. He is the third player to receive his 3,000th shot in Detroit, joining Thai Cobb and Al Kalin.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.