There has been a lot of talk about Miguel Cabrera and his health in the postseason, but the Detroit Tigers need him to be effective to advance to the World Series.
"He obviously has been playing this entire season -- or series, excuse me -- and quite a while now really in quite a bit of discomfort," Jim Leyland said. "It's a shame because it has handicapped him in some ways, obviously. You just don't feel good and you're hurting. It's tough.
"My hat goes off to him to what he's going though and going out there for us and he knows we need him in there and he's really risen to the occasion in every way possible, in my opinion."
Cabrera, the reigning American League MVP, is hitting .263/.317/.421 with a pair of home runs and seven RBIs in the playoffs.
"It kind of breaks your heart, to be honest with you, to see him out there the way he has to out there and the way he is right now because you know he's hurting," Leyland added. "He's tough as nails, I have so much respect for him. Everybody is conscientious these days about people earning their money. You talk about somebody who is earning their money, this guy feels like he owes it to the Detroit Tigers and our fans to be out there, he owes it to the team."