Melky Cabrera

A native of the Dominican Republic, Melky Cabrera signed as an amateur free agent in 2001 with the New York Yankees at the age of 17. By the age of 18 Cabrera he made his professional debut with the Yankees Rookie League affiliate in the Dominican Summer League.

Cabrera made his major league debut with the Yankees in 2005, going 1-4 in a Yankees win over the Cleveland Indians. In 2006 Cabrera would spend most of the season playing left field, but in 2007 Cabrera became the Yankees everyday centerfielder, taking over for Johnny Damon.

During his time with the Yankees, Cabrera had his ups and downs. Shortly after being called up by the big club, Cabrera would struggle at the plate going 0-13 and was sent to Triple AAA Columbus for two weeks before being demoted to AA ball for the rest of the season.

In 2007, Cabrera and outfielder Jason Giambi platoon in the outfield during the season until Giambi went on the disabled list which gave Cabrera a chance to shine. After he took over for Giambi, during that stretch, Cabrera hit .320 with five homeruns and 35 RBI’s. He also had a 18 game hitting streak during that time. http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=466320

By the time Giambi returned from the DL, Cabrera had already established himself as the Yankee centerfielder. When 2008 rolled around, Cabrera numbers had gone down, but his fielding was still some of the best in the majors. Before the season even officially started, Cabrera was involved in a bench clearing brawl with the Tampa Bay Rays for which he got suspended two games.

Two-thousand and nine was the best season stat wise for Cabrera as a Yankee; he set career highs in doubles (28) and home runs (13) in 154 games with the Yankees and he batted .277 (91-for-328) http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=466320

In 2010 Cabrera was traded to the Atlanta Braves.

• Melky Cabrera’s best years as a Yankee were 2006 and 2007 when hit .280 and .273 respectively

• Cabrera took part in the Yankees' hurricane relief donating of $35,000 in cash and food to the Dominican Republic in October 2007

• He was honored with a Munson Award for his excellence and philanthropic work in the community at the 28th Annual Thurman Munson Dinner on February 5, 2008.

• Melky Cabrera made a cameo appearance in Hector El Father's music video, "Pa La Tumba", with another Yankee Robinson Cano.

• On July 7, 2007, Cabrera tied a Yankees record by striking out five times in a single 13-inning game, a feat known as the platinum sombrero.

• Melky's best friend on those Yankees’ teams was second baseman Robinson Cano. The two lived in the same apartment complex in New Jersey and Cano use to drive Cabrera to the Yankees home games. Cano is credited with being a big part of Melky's acclimation to the team and the States. He also use serve as Carera’s unofficial translator.

http://armchairgm.wikia.com/Melky_Cabrera http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=466320