•  Cabrera came to the Red Sox at the July 31 trade deadline in a four-team deal. The Sox sent Nomar Garciaparra and a minor leaguer to the Cubs, who dealt prospects to both the Expos and Twins. In return, Boston received Cabrera from Montreal and Doug Mientkiewicz from Minnesota.

•  Orlando joined the Sox in Minnesota the next day and made a good first impression, homering in his first at-bat.

•  Despite the initial homer, he got off to a slow start at the plate. But he caught fire in mid-August and ignited the Sox' late-season playoff run. On August 17, the Sox went into the bottom of the ninth in a 4-4 tie. With Johnny Damon on first, Cabrera hit a double off the edge of the scoreboard on the Green Monster. It took a high bounce, and Johnny was able to race home with the winning run.

•  As the Sox' winning streak rolled on, Orlando stayed hot. On August 20 he had a three-run homer and four RBI, as the Red Sox beat the White Sox 10-1.

•  Cabrera flew home to Colombia for two days in September to be with his wife, who was recovering from surgery. Then on September 22 he returned to Boston, telling her, "My team needs me," and talking his way into that night's lineup. They did indeed need him, as he hit a walkoff home run in the bottom of the twelfth to win the game.

•  Orlando was one of only four Red Sox who had never played in the postseason before, but it didn't show. He played in all fourteen postseason games, and did not make any errors at shortstop.

•  He had a bases-loaded double in the ninth inning of Game 2 of the Division Series, driving in three and turning a slim 5-3 lead into a much more comfortable 8-3.

•  Cabrera did his part to keep the offense going in the ALCS. He drove in the Red Sox' lone run in Game 2, and had a two-run double to briefly tie Game 3 at 6-6. He knocked in the Sox' first run in Game 4, and scored their first run in Game 5. In Game 7 he walked twice, scoring on both of Johnny Damon's home runs.

•  In Game 2 of the World Series, Orlando banged a two-out single off the Green Monster, scoring two runs and giving the Sox a 6-1 lead in a game they would go on to win 6-2.

The glove Cabrera used to play an errorless postseason
is on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

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