Miggy displays fandom on vacation to Spain
Tigers slugger meets soccer greats of FC Barcelona during family trip
DETROIT -- For the first time in a few years, Miguel Cabrera is healthy enough to have a full workout regimen this offseason. He's also healthy enough to enjoy a real vacation overseas. One look at his Instagram account suggests he's getting a kick out of it.
With no offseason surgery or rehab to hamper him, Cabrera and his family made a trip to Spain, where his stops included a visit to La Liga soccer champions FC Barcelona. There, the four-time batting champion and two-time American League MVP got to flip the roles and be the fan, getting photographs with players up and down the lineup of one of the world's most famous sports franchises.
Not only did he post pictures with star players, he thanked them for taking the time.
Here's a picture of him with the great Lionel Messi:
Cabrera also got a photo with Brazilian star Neymar:
Dani Alves looked almost as excited to see Cabrera as the other way around:
If you look close, you can see Christopher hiding behind his father as he gets a photo with Gerard Pique:
Cabrera said in this post that he tried talking baseball with Luis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic, but admitted that they had no idea who he was:
Still, Cabrera was important enough to get a pair of cleats during his visit, seen here in his photo with Andres Iniesta:
Cabrera wasn't the only Tigers star who visited Barcelona this month. Anibal Sanchez made the trip with his wife and daughter and posted from a match at Camp Nou.
Though baseball is the national sport in Cabrera's native Venezuela, there's also a healthy football following. Victor Martinez is an avid fan and supported Spain during the most recent World Cup last year. Magglio Ordonez was a talented footballer growing up before he turned pro in baseball. Jose Salomon Rondon put Venezuelan football on the world stage this year when he signed to play in England's Premier League for West Bromwich Albion.