Miguel Cabrera reaches 3,000 career hits, 33rd player in major league history

(WXYZ) — Miguel Cabrera reached the 3,000 career hits milestone Saturday at Comerica Park, becoming the 33rd player in major league history to do so.

Cabrera's 3,000th hit came on a single in the first inning of a 13-0 Detroit Tigers win over the Colorado Rockies, the first game of a split doubleheader.

The game was briefly halted for an on-field celebration that included members of Cabrera's family. Cabrera later returned to the field at the end of the inning for a curtain call from the announced crowd of 37,566 at Comerica Park.

Nearby at Little Caesars Arena, Cabrera's milestone at-bat was shown live to the crowd watching the Penguins-Red Wings game.

Cabrera becomes the seventh player in major league history with at least 3,000 career hits and 500 career home runs. He joins Ty Cobb and Al Kaline as the third player to get his 3,000th hit while with Detroit.

"It's a special moment for me, my family, and the whole country of Venezuela," Cabrera said in a postgame television interview on the field.

Following Cabrera's 3,000th hit, the Tigers played a video with messages from other players, including Albert Pujols, the only other active major league player to reach the milestone.

Cabrera, who tied Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente on the list of career hits leaders with 3,000, later passed Clemente with a two-run single in the sixth inning for hit number 3,001.

“He’s going to go down as one of the best hitters of all time," Hall of Famer Alan Trammell said Friday. “He realizes that it’s getting toward the end, but he still has something left in the tank. When it’s all said and done this year, I think he’s going to have a heck of a year.”

The Tigers announced plans to honor Cabrera's milestone with a pregame ceremony at Comerica Park on June 12.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.