In Miguel Cabrera's 21-year career, which comes to a close this weekend in Detroit, he made it easy for us to appreciate him.
He did it first and foremost with his bat. In five seasons with the Miami Marlins (then known as the Florida Marlins) and 16 with the Detroit Tigers, Cabrera singled himself out as one of the game's true greats.
It started with his rookie year in 2003, when he hit a walk-off home run for the Marlins in his first game.
That was the first of his 511 career home runs, a total that ties him with Mel Ott for 25th on the all-time list.