Miguel Cabrera Has Shot at the Triple Crown
Miguel Cabrera has been one of the best players in baseball ever since he started in the league as a 20-year old. He has been a dynamic slugger for both the Detroit Tigers and his former team, the Florida Marlins.
Cabrera seems to get better each year and this year, he has a legitimate chance to pull off a career-first and win the Triple Crown. As of right now, it is very possible as Cabrera leads the league in RBIs, in batting average and is two homers shy of Bautista’s 24 for the lead in baseball.
Several of http://www.freep.com/article/20100713/SPORTS02/7130315/1319/Cabrera-a-true-Triple-Crown-threat fellow American League All-Stars said Monday he has a realistic chance to win the Triple Crown.
Ironically the very man that Cabrera is chasing for the home run lead, Jose Bautista, is hoping that Cabrera really takes a run at this and challenges him for the home run lead.
"He's having an awesome year," said Bautista. "Every time you look at the stats and the leader boards, it's amazing to see what he's been doing so far, hopefully, he can continue and give it a shot at the Triple Crown."
Bautista explained why he hopes Cabrera challenges him for the league lead in home runs.
"It's something that hasn't been done in a long time," Bautista said of the Triple Crown.
Indeed it has been a long time since someone has pulled it off. The last player to win either league's Triple Crown was Boston's Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.
Cabrera is currently hitting a .346 batting average which is 109 points higher than Bautista. He also has hit 77 RBIs to go along with his 22 home runs.
"You sacrifice your batting average when you swing for a little more power. For him to do both at the same time, it's unreal." said Bautista.
As Cabrera chases history, he is also trying to lead his Tigers to the AL Central title. The Tigers had a comfortable lead over the division late in the season last year, but a collapse in the last couple of weeks of the season opened the door for the Minnesota Twins to tie the Tigers. The two teams met in a one-game playoff where the Twins won 6-5 in a thrilling 12 inning game.
Cabrera’s career has been so impressive and the Venezuelan is only 27 years old, meaning he’s likely in his offensive prime right now. In his seven year career, Cabrera has accumulated 1,328 hits, 231 homers, 830 RBIs and has a total batting average of .314.
Cabrera was traded from the Marlins to the Tigers in 2007 along with Dontrelle Willis. In return the Marlins acquired pitchers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Rabelo, proving the value of Cabrera.
In his time with the Tigers, Cabrera has made an immediate impact. In 2008, he pelted a career high 37 home runs to lead the American League, although he is on pace to break that record this year. He also hit a career high 127 RBIs.
Last year he tied a career high in hits with 198 and batted in 103 runs to reach over 100 RBIs for a sixth straight season. He also added on 34 home runs.
Now this season, Cabrera is on pace for his best season yet and if the Detroit Tigers are to reclaim the division crown, Cabrera will be a major reason for that. He still has so much great baseball left in his career and will be a key for the Tigers down the stretch. They’ll just have to keep it together once the last couple of weeks of the season roll around.
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