HAZELWOOD: Cabrera, Francona farewell hit a home run

DETROIT — The scenes were the full beauty of sports. For weeks, some of my family and friends debated what was going to happen — and how and when it would all take place. We were among the 41,425 fans in attendance on Sunday at Comerica Park in Detroit for the regular season finale between the Cleveland Guardians and the Tigers. We knew the game itself was going to be secondary. Both teams had been eliminated from postseason contention for weeks. But this was baseball history, a day that followed a script throughout most of the game. Until it wasn't. Sunday was the final game in the 21-year career of Miguel Cabrera. In the nearly 150 years of Major League Baseball, only Cabrera, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays reached 3,000-plus career hits, 500-plus career home runs, and a .300 or better career batting average. In the visiting dugout, it was also the final game for Terry Francona as the manager of the Guardians. He's one of 13 managers in MLB history with more than 1,950 wins and multiple World Series championships. Never before in the game's history had two players or managers of that stature gone out in the same game together. Which led to the questions of what was going to happen, and when. The Tigers, of course, spared no expense all weekend in recognizing Cabrera. From a pregame card stunt throughout the crowd to show the stadium spelling out, "Gracias, Miggy," and his milestones, to his three kids throwing out the ceremonial first pitch to Cabrera, everything hit the right tone. Each time Cabrera — who in 2012 also became the only triple crown winner in the last 55 years — stepped to the plate, everyone stood. Most of the crowd had their phones out, hoping to record history. The hope was their beloved slugger was going to give them one more indelible moment, whether it was a single or double, or even an amazing moment with a home run. Except Cabrera struck out in his first two at-bats, and was clearly overmatched. Then, in the bottom of the seventh, in what was safe to assume his final at-bat, he drew a four-pitch walk as the crowd booed. The storybook moment everyone had wanted wasn't going to happen. When he walked off the field after being forced out at second base, both sides and the umpires stopped, expecting that was going to be the moment. Then came the best kind of sports drama. That moment everyone hoped they'd get became one that wasn't manufactured — and definitely unscripted. For most of his career, Cabrera also played first base for Detroit. But slowed by injuries and now at age 40, those days were long over. He had played just 44 games at the position over the past four years while becoming the team's designated hitter. Cabrera didn't even have a glove on Sunday when he was subbed in to play the position in the bottom of the eighth. He borrowed teammate Spencer Torkleson's glove, and was sent out for warm-ups. But his teammates didn't follow, and the crowd gave him yet another thunderous ovation. Most of the Cleveland players were perched atop the railing of the visiting dugout, looking on like kids. Of course, only three players on the team are over the age of 30, so they were toddlers when Cabrera's Hall of Fame career started. Then, on the second pitch thrown to Cleveland's Steven Kwan, he pulled a slider roughly 85 mph off the bat — directly to Cabrera. He took two steps to his right, backhanded the ball in someone else's glove, then beat Kwan to the bag and stomped on the base and celebrated. It had been exactly two years to the day that Cabrera had last played first base. Yet the very first ball put in play was hit directly to him for the out. Of all the things one could have drawn up, there is little chance that was in anyone's script. Moments later, the game was stopped as Cabrera's family came out of the dugout with Tigers manager AJ Hinch, removing him from the field for the final time in his 2,797th career game. My wife, daughter and an uncle were seated about seven rows behind first base to see his final play. Call it the "baseball gods" at work, or whatever you'd like, but the organic surprise and reaction to the moment will live forever. In the Cleveland dugout, it was another bittersweet moment for a generation of fans. From our seats, we were able to observe Francona before the game. He stood alone, head bowed, briefly looking up to see Cabrera moments on the scoreboard. Francona later walked out the lineup card to the umpires, something he almost never did during his 11 years in Cleveland. He tossed pieces of his signature double bubble to a few fans behind the dugout. Days earlier, Francona had received his Cleveland send-off, with another moment that wasn't scripted. His star player, Jose Ramirez, blocked Francona from retreating to the dugout, forcing him to take in one last curtain call at Progressive Field. There is not much I can add to what hasn't been written or spoken about Francona's exit from Cleveland. In a lot of ways, he became the face of the franchise — because it also felt like he was one of us. "Tito" seemed just as likely to be a distant relative at a family gathering telling stories poking fun at himself and others as opposed to being a manager who revolutionized bullpen management in postseason games. For the first 13 years of my life (1980-93), the Indians lost 100-plus games three times and had one winning season under six different managers. My daughter, Chloe, is 15. All she has known as a fan is Francona for most of her life, not to mention the six postseason appearances and an American League pennant. But I'll never forget an early August game in 2013, his first year as the Cleveland manager. The Tigers had gone to the World Series the year before and came to town up three games on the Indians in the Central division race. Cleveland had already lost the first two games of the series, but had a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning of the third game. Rookie flame thrower Danny Salazar was over 100 pitches when Cabrera came to the plate with a runner on first base — after he had struck out in each of his first three at-bats. I was standing in my living room, pleading with Francona to walk or pitch around Cabrera. He didn't, and Cabrera hit the first pitch he saw, a towering moon shot to centerfield for a three-run home run. Cabrera hit .309 with 50 home runs and drove in 177 runs in 251 games against Cleveland. He's the greatest right-handed hitter I've seen in my lifetime, but I won't miss him absolutely tormenting my team. Earlier that day in 2013, I had taken my daughter to Cedar Point. She was five, and my wife, Megan, was out of town at a teacher's conference. Chloe had stood in some random spot near the kiddie rides at the amusement park and declared, "this is where the magic of Cedar Point happens." Such a fun, silly line from a child. Yet every time we walk by that spot, I still think of it — and of course, that game later that night. For years, my daughter has become a magnet for baseball tosses in her evolution of gloves, from a tiny pink one, to the red and blue one today. She easily has more than 50 baseballs over the years from players, coaches and umpires. However, she did not get one last year or this season. But before Sunday's game, bullpen coach Rigo Beltran tossed her a ball over the heads of several Tiger fans — after pitcher Triston McKenzie was done using it from a side session. A short time later, she tracked down McKenzie, who signed the ball for her. It was another full-circle moment. The reality is, she is a sophomore in high school. It may sound silly, but I don't know how many more of those types of moments my wife and I will get to experience with her at a game. As for my uncle, Terry Hazelwood, we text frequently throughout any given day or week, both in excitement and frustration for the Guardians. He's also been a big supporter of my daughter's sports exploits and other activities. After Cabrera had taken his final curtain call, there was still a game to finish — a 5-2 win by the Tigers that few will remember details of. But the venue was eerily silent. Everyone was exhausted by what had just transpired. My uncle then extended his hand to me, and simply thanked me for including him on the trip with a handshake. Another beautiful, unscripted moment I wasn't expecting. And the authentic drama of what sports can provide stayed undefeated.