Tigers' beloved phenom announces retirement after 13 seasons in MLB originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
It wasn't Avisail Garcia's fault that he looked like Miguel Cabrera.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut it certainly made for quite the prospect hype train as he climbed the ladder in the Detroit Tigers' minor league system.
They called him "Baby Miggy." How was he ever going to live up to a nickname based on one of the couple greatest right-handed hitters of a generation?
Garcia did his best, lasting 13 seasons in Major League Baseball, although only a couple with the Tigers.
Now, though, he has retired.
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Garcia announced the news on social media.
“Thank you to God for the blessing of fulfilling my childhood dream—of playing baseball at its highest level," Garcia wrote on Instagram.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAll told, Garcia played in just 53 games with the Tigers before being sent to the Chicago White Sox, for whom he played six productive seasons.
With the White Sox, Garcia batted .271, hit 73 home runs and made an All-Star Game.
He then played for the Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers and Miami Marlins.
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Garcia finished his career as a .263 hitter. He had 154 doubles, 17 triples, 140 home runs, 524 RBI and 51 stolen bases.
The physically impressive 6-foot-4 outfielder looked the part from his first day in the big leagues to his last.
He last played in MLB with 18 games with the Marlins in 2024.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementGarcia didn't actually suit up in a pro baseball regular season game in 2025. Now he makes his departure from the sport official.
He never grew up from that nickname of Baby Miggy, but he made a long career for himself anyway.
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