Background and career
Orlando Luis Cabrera Ramírez (born November 2, 1974), nicknamed "O-Cab" and "the OC", is a Colombian-American former baseball infielder. He won the 2004 World Series championship with the Boston Red Sox. He also played for the Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians and San Francisco Giants. Cabrera is the younger brother of former major leaguer Jolbert Cabrera. Cabrera won the Gold Glove Award in 2001 and in 2007. He announced his retirement before the 2012 season.
Cabrera signed with the Expos as a non-drafted free agent in 1993. He made his major league debut on September 3, 1997, against the Boston Red Sox, entering as a defensive replacement for Mark Grudzielanek at shortstop and finishing the game 0-for-2. Cabrera recorded his first major league hit, a single, off New York Mets pitcher Rick Reed on September 11. On July 18, 1999, Cabrera popped up to end David Cone's perfect game. In 2002, he led all major league ballplayers in errors, totaling 29. In 2003, Cabrera finished second among the league shortstops in batting average (.297), slugging percentage (.415), runs batted in (80), and stolen base percentage (24-to-26). In addition, he was one of four Expos players to have played all 162 games in a season, and the first to do it twice. Also, his 17 home runs that season were the most ever by a shortstop in Expos history. Since the Expos traded Cabrera to the Red Sox in 2004, he appeared in six of the seven MLB postseasons, and at least once with every team he spent the end of the season with (2004 with Boston, 2005 and 2007 with Los Angeles, 2008 with Chicago, 2009 with Minnesota, and 2010 with Cincinnati).
Cabrera was traded to the Boston Red Sox on July 31, 2004, as part of a four-team trade. Cabrera batted .294 with six home runs and 31 RBIs in 58 games with the Red Sox. He also brought stability to the shortstop position. The trade, which also netted first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz from the Twins, shored up Boston's infield defense and energized the team, which went 42–19 after the deal to win the American League's wild card (56–45 before the trade). "He is a game-changer in the field for me", Curt Schilling said. He hit a home run on his first at-bat with the Red Sox on August 1, becoming the eighth Boston player to accomplish the feat. In Game 2 of the 2004 ALDS, he hit a bases-clearing double, helping the Red Sox sweep the Anaheim Angels. Boston went on to win its first World Series title since 1918 with a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Following his 2004 World Series victory with the Red Sox, Cabrera agreed to a four-year, $32 million contract as a free agent with the Anaheim Angels (later renamed Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) on December 20, 2004. He replaced David Eckstein at shortstop. Also reuniting him with his former Expos teammate Vladimir Guerrero. In 2007, Cabrera led qualified AL shortstops with a .983 fielding percentage and a league-low 11 errors, earning him the American League Gold Glove for shortstop, the first by an Angel shortstop since Jim Fregosi in 1967. Also, he stole 20 bases for the third straight year and the fifth time overall. Cabrera had a 63-game on-base streak in early-through-mid-2006, which was the sixth-longest streak of all time. Ted Williams holds the Major League record with 84 straight games reaching base. Cabrera also had a straight steal of home plate on July 2, 2006, the first such time it had been accomplished by an Angels player since 1997. Cabrera scored without a throw.
On November 19, 2007, Cabrera was traded to the Chicago White Sox along with cash considerations for Jon Garland. Cabrera's one season with White Sox was marred with controversy: arguing with manager Ozzie Guillén, leaving the clubhouse early to avoid the media, calling the press box to have errors overturned, questioning his team's attitude, and kicking dirt at Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Grant Balfour during an at-bat in Game 1 of the AL Divisional Series.
On March 6, 2009, Cabrera signed a one-year deal and played middle infield with the Oakland Athletics. In 101 games with the A's, he batted .280 with four home runs and 41 RBI in 101 games.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
