Melky Cabrera grew up in in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic as a child dreaming to be a major league baseball player one day. Melky grew up as a poor child, and knew his family would benefit tremendously by coming to the United States to play baseball. Finally, at the age of 17, Melky Cabrera signed with the New York Yankees, on November 13, 2001.In Melkys first year of American baseball, he posted a .335 batting average with the Yankees Rookie League affiliate. Cabrera continued to post great numbers in the minors, hitting over .300 every season. In 2005 he played with the Class AA Trenton Thunder and AAA Columbus, and eventually made it to the New York Yankees on July 7, 2005, but he only played in six games before he was sent back down to Columbus. The youngsters brief stint with the Yankees was memorable, but not in a positive way. Playing CF against the Red Sox, Melky dove for a ball hit by Trot Nixon, and let it get past him, giving up an inside the park homerun. His performance at the plate wasn't much better. In six games, Cabrera went 4 for 19, with a .211 ba.
Melky, sent back down to AAA to finish off the season, dissapointed, just continued working, hoping that one day he would get a second shot. He got a second shot, and oh, he made the most of it. After hitting .349 in spring training due to several Yankees playing in the WBC, Cabrera left a lasting impression on Yankees staff, this time, in a positive way. After returning to AAA, he played with a determination and fire like never before. He played sterling defense and hit .385 with 4 HR and 24 RBI in just 31 games. After injuries to Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield, Melky Cabrera's name was called, for a second time. This time, he made the most of his stay in the Bronx. Cabrera was a main-stay in the Yankees lineup until September. The, "Melk Man" played solid defense and offense, featuring Melky's first career 4-hit game, going 4 for 6, on May 30th. Melky didn't leave out the other side of the ball. On June 6, in the 8th inning of a 2-1 game against the Red Sox, Melky made an outstanding catch in left-center, leaping over the wall to steal a home run from Boston's Manny RamÃrez. After the catch, Johnny Damon cheered and danced in the outfield. This play earned Melky a "This Year In Baseball" Award (voted on by the fans) for the most outstanding play of the 2006 season.
Melky impressed fans last season, but what can he for us in 2007?
The plan is for Cabrera to be the primary backup outfielder going into the season. He will probably receive a lot of time in the starting lineup, giving the aging Yankees outfield a rest. The Bombers outfield consits of a 32-year old Hideki Matsui, a 33-year old Bobby Abreu, and a 32-year old Johnny Damon.
My 2007 Prediction: 500 AB's, 13 HR's, 65 rbi's, and a .277 average.
Melky Cabrera has a bright future ahead of himself. Yankees fans tend to be tough on their players, but I don't think it'll affect the Melk-Man, who I could see possibly being an everyday starting Yankees outfielder one day.
