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Melky Cabrera

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Melky Cabrera
File:MelkyCabrera.jpg
New York Yankees – No. 28
Left field
Bats: Switch
Throws: Left
debut
July 7, 2005, for the New York Yankees
Career statistics
(through 2006)
Batting average.269
HR7
RBI54
Hits141
Runs scored80

Melky Cabrera (born August 11, 1984 in Santo Domingo Oeste, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the New York Yankees.

The Beginning and the Minors

Melky was first signed by the New York Yankees at age 17 on November 13, 2001. He made his pro debut at age 18 at the Domincan Summer League as the Yankees Rookie League affiliate in 2002. In 2003 he made his first minor league appearance with the low class A ball in the NY-Penn League with the Staten Island Yankees, batting .283 with 31 RBI in 67 games. In 2004, he moved up to the higher A ball Battle Creek Yankees, hitting .333 with 16 RBI in 42 games before being promoted to the high class A Tampa Yankees, where he hit .288 with 51 RBI in 85 games to finish to season. In 2005 he played with the Class AA Trenton Thunder and AAA Columbus and eventually made it to the New York Yankees on July 7, 2005 but he only played six games before he moved back down to Columbus, he also started the 2006 season in Columbus but due to Injuries to Hideki Matsui, and Gary Sheffield he became the everyday left fielder for the Yankees in 2006.

2005, First stint as a Yankee

Melky started off 2005 with the AA Trenton Thunder, hitting .275 with 60 RBI in 106 games before being called up to the AAA Columbus Clippers at the end of June. Soon after, on July 7, he was called up to the New York Yankees due to some issues in center field on the major league club. [1]. He made his major league debut in center field against the Cleveland Indians later that day at Yankee Stadium, striking out in his first at bat against Kevin Millwood before collecting his first major league hit, a single to left field, in his second at bat and finishing 1 for 4. He got a standing ovation for his first hit.[2]. The next day, he went 2 for 3 against Cleveland's Cliff Lee, scoring his first major league run. Melky would go 0 for his next 11 and make a costly miscue in center on July 15 against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, misplaying a Trot Nixon fly ball into an inside-the-park homer during a 17-1 drubbing by the Red Sox. Melky was sent down to AAA Columbus the next day for 17 games, and then demoted back to AA Trenton Thunder to finish out the season.

2006, Second stint as a Yankee

Melky saw a lot of time in Spring Training of 2006, with outfield starters Johnny Damon and Bernie Williams playing in the World Baseball Classic. He impressed the Yankees by hitting .349 in 16 games, before ultimately being sent to AAA Columbus again at the start of the season.

Melky started on fire, hitting .385 with 4 HR and 24 RBI in just 31 games before being called up on May 9 after left fielder Hideki Matsui's broken wrist landed him on the DL until September 12. Melky stepped in at left field and started off on fire, hitting .318 in May with his first 10 career RBIs and first 2 stolen bases. On May 30, batting leadoff for just the second time, Melky recorded his first career 4-hit game, going 4 for 6, missing the cycle by a homer. [3]. In June, he fell into a slump, although he hit his first major league HR on June 15. [4]. On June 6, in the 8th inning of a 2-1 game against the Red Sox, Melky made an outstanding catch in left-center, leaping over the wall to steal a home run from Boston's Manny Ramírez. After the catch, Johnny Damon cheered and danced in the outfield. [5]. This play earned Melky a "This Year In Baseball" Award (voted on by the fans) for the most outstanding play of the 2006 season. In July, Melky heated up again, hitting .313 with 14 RBI. Highlights of the month included his first career 5-RBI game on July 5, with his first career grand slam.[6]. On July 18, Melky hit his first career walk-off home run, a line shot in the bottom of the 11th against the Seattle Mariners' to give the Yankees a 5-4 win. [7]. Melky finished the 2006 season tied for second in the league with 12 outfield assists.

Trivia

  • Chris Berman, known for giving nicknames to players, has given Cabrera the nickname "Melky Way" Cabrera. (He debated between that and "Skim Melky".) Yankees broadcaster John Sterling also uses this nickname, though it is unclear whether Sterling or Berman came up with the nickname first. Sterling also uses the phrase, "the Melk Man always knocks twice" when referring to Cabrera, usually after Cabrera hits a home run. Sterling also came up with the phrase "The Melk Man always delivers." This was after Melky's walk-off home run against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium in the bottom of the 11th inning.
  • Melky's nickname around the Yankee clubhouse is "Leche," which is Spanish for "milk."
  • A common catchphrase associated with Cabrera is "Got Melky?"[1]
  • Melky is the second youngest Yankee to hit a walk-off home run. The youngest Yankee to do so was Mickey Mantle.
  • Melky's Great-great-grandfather was childhood friends with Abner Doubleday, the inventor of baseball.
  • Melky is often referred to as an "Indian Killer." He has batted .320 with 2 home runs,(his first and a grand slam) 7 RBIs, 15 Total Bases, and a 1.014 OPS [On-Base Plus Slugging(.414 + .600)] against Cleveland in 2006.
  • Melky and second baseman Robinson Cano are best friends.

Career Statistics

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References

  1. ^ Got Melky Shirt
  2. ^ "Melky Cabrera". ESPN.com. 2007-02-24. Retrieved 2007-02-24. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 7 (help)


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