Future Hall of Fame slugger Miguel Cabrera is nearing his retirement from the MLB and he is receiving some love in his final professional games.
It’s not uncommon practice to provide something nice for a legend before they transition into retirement. The Guardians gave him a custom guitar as a nod to the nearby Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, for example.
On Thursday night, meanwhile, the A’s honored Cabrera with a cabernet sauvignon from Caymus Vineyards. It was nice of the team to honor the 12-time All-Star and two-time AL MVP. But a little more thought may have gone a long way.
Cabrera spent three months in an outpatient treatment program to focus on getting sober in 2010. He faced legal issues due to his drinking in 2009 and again in 2011.
When the Tigers won their division in 2012, out of respect for his sobriety, the team made sure to have non-alcoholic champagne available. Still, though, Cabrera excused himself from the celebration.
As recently as last year, when he recorded the 3,000th hit of his career, he celebrated with a glass of non-alcoholic champagne. The A’s really could have used just an extra second of research to make sure they respected his sobriety.
Congratulations on a legendary career, Miggy! 👏 pic.twitter.com/OEZt8q5Vjq
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) September 22, 2023
Oakland, however, isn’t the only team to make this sort of mistake. The Marlins (where he played from 2003 until 2007 and where he won his only World Series) got Cabrera a bottle of rum.
Houston got a bottle of wine for Cabrera as well but at least that one was a touch more personal as it was from the vineyard that Astros manager Dusty Baker owns.
The A’s (almost predictably) didn’t have as much to offer in the mindfulness department. If you were wondering if this is some kind of vintage wine that could have value, the results show that he could have gotten his hands on his own at the same size from the same year for around $90.
Now, if your buddy got you a bottle of well-reviewed $90 wine, that is pretty generous. But remember: The A’s are worth over $1 billion!
In fairness to the organization, though, it’s not like they are spending a ton of money on their own players either. They currently have the lowest payroll in the MLB and Cabrera has a yearly salary that is more than 50 percent of the entire books for the A’s.
For what it is worth, the bottle was autographed by the team. But it is unlikely how much that would actually increase the value of the present. It isn’t exactly exciting to have the signatures of a team that is more than 30 games below .500 and the worst record in the MLB.
