This isn’t Miguel Cabrera’s first rodeo.
Entering his 17th season, spring training likely seems a little mundane for the 35-year-old, so the Detroit Tigers first baseman decided to spice things up a bit in a spring game against the Minnesota Twins.
Cabrera savagely pulled off the hidden ball trick, bluffing a throw back to the mound then tagging Ehire Adrianza while his foot was off the bag.
Ruthless.
But also, it begs the question … why break this out in a spring training game? We see maybe a couple hidden ball tricks a year, why show your hand when the games don’t even count?
Second, what in the world is the first base coach doing here?
Third, you gotta feel for Adrianza here. He’s just a fringe Major League player trying to earn a spot, and he gets bamboozled like he’s in “Rookie of the Year.” There is absolutely nothing more embarrassing in baseball than falling for the hidden ball trick. We hope he can recover.
