Detroit Tigers star Miguel Cabrera is one of only a few veterans in a very young clubhouse, and some are not convinced that he’s leading his younger teammates in the right direction.
One of those people is Hall of Fame pitcher Jack Morris, a regular commentator for Tigers games on TV. In a recent interview with Chris Nelsen for the Detroit Free Press, Morris questioned whether Cabrera has the demeanor to fill a leadership role for the team.
“You can’t ask a guy to be anything he’s not,” Morris said. “Miggy has always loved the game. He has fun playing the game. That’s who he is.”
Cabrera and Morris spoke privately in May about some disagreements, but it seems that the truce was not permanent. After the Tigers lost Sunday to the Boston Red Sox, the first baseman made clear that he was not happy with Morris’ recent assessment.
Cabrera "I want to be a leader here, I want to show people like Jack Morris who say well he's not a leader, I say what the f**k are you talking about? You don't know whats going on here"
— Jeff Riger (@riger1984) July 7, 2019
Cabrera is angry that Morris questioned his leadership "that's wrong, we care, we want to win"
— Jeff Riger (@riger1984) July 7, 2019
Cabrera "a lot of people hear what he (Morris) say, well no people hear what we say."
— Jeff Riger (@riger1984) July 7, 2019
Cabrera on Morris "what he said, it was so wrong, I was like damn, why did he say that?"
— Jeff Riger (@riger1984) July 7, 2019
Cabrera "I know you guys are hard on me but I don't be mad at you guys" He was really angry about the Morris comments and said he wants to be a good leader.
— Jeff Riger (@riger1984) July 7, 2019
Cabrera added that his leadership style is not publicly vocal.
Cabrera "The way you guys want me to lead is not the way I'm leading" He said hes leading quietly, he doesn't want the media to see it because its personal.
— Jeff Riger (@riger1984) July 7, 2019
Time has not been kind to Cabrera. He’s hit just five home runs this year and is facing the reality of dealing with a chronic knee problem for the rest of his career. There’s no doubt that he’s struggling with the fact that he’s nowhere near as productive as he used to be, and it doesn’t help that he’s playing for one of the worst teams in baseball after spending the bulk of his Tigers career playing for contenders. Hearing talk like this probably frustrates him even more.
