Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander both underwent the same surgical procedure within the past year. The two Detroit Tigers stars had sports hernia surgery, with Cabrera going under the knife last October and Verlander having it done in January. According to Cabrera, neither player has fully recovered.
Miggy is having another fantastic season, leading Major League Baseball with 75 RBI and the AL with 34 doubles. However, his 14 home runs are well behind last season’s pace. Verlander struggled throughout the first half of the season, compiling an 8-8 record with a 4.88 ERA.
“There are times when I feel good, but there are always muscles that are tightening, muscles that are not functioning properly,” Cabrera said Monday, via a translation from Jorge L. Ortiz of USA Today Sports. “It’s part of the process. The same thing is happening to Justin Verlander, but the difference is he pitches every five days, so you don’t see it as frequently.”
Despite the nagging injury, Cabrera said he and Verlander do not want to use their ongoing recovery as a crutch.
“But as he and I talked about, we’re never going to offer any excuses for our performance,” Miggy added. “We always want to be out on the field and compete, and I think that’s the most important thing we can do, compete and try to get past this tough time. And the main thing is we’re in first place.”
Sports hernia injuries can affect the waist and lower body area, so that explanation certainly makes sense. It would help explain why Cabrera isn’t blasting as many home runs and why Verlander’s velocity has been down.
As Cabrera mentioned, the Tigers have a 6.5-game lead in the AL Central despite Verlander’s slow start and Miggy’s somewhat human-like numbers. If both can get healthy in the second half, Detroit will be even more dangerous.
