Miguel Cabrera wins Triple Crown Award, ready for the playoffs – MLB Update
Blue Jays’ outfielder Edwin Encarnacion was just two home-runs behind Detroit Tigers’ third baseman Miguel Cabrera when the season ended. Winning the Triple Crown Award is not only about hitting home-runs.
It is about performing under pressure which Cabrera has done on regular basis this season. Not only is he an excellent hitter, he also has the ability to steal RBI’s and walks, which makes him an asset for the Tigers in every situation.
The 29-year-old Cabrera has been superb for the Tigers over the last five years. In 2008, he hit 37 home-runs to lead the league in one of the Triple Crown category. His superb form continued in 2010, when he drove in season high 126 RBI’s. He finished the
2011 season with an incredible .344 average.
However, in 2012, he managed to put the pieces of the puzzle together, leading the league in all three categories. For his heroic effort, Cabrera was presented with his first ever Triple Crown Award.
"I thought somebody would have won it a long time ago," former award holder Carl Yastrzemski, 73. "And the surprising thing about it is, too, in the '50s when (Mickey) Mantle won it and Williams and Frank, you had a higher mound. You know, I'd like to see
what some of the pitchers would throw today with their speeds if they came off the higher mound. I could see (Tigers ace Justin) Verlander probably throwing 100 miles per hour or more on every pitch. So, like I said, I'm surprised it's lasted this long."
For a hitter to win Triple Crown Award is an accomplishment rarer than even the perfect game. Cabrera is only the second batter to win this Award in history of the club. Only Ty Cobb, who hit .377 with 107 RBI’s in 1909, achieved this feat.
But the job is far from done. Cabrera still has a lot of work to do to lead his team into the World Series finals. Tigers have won the American League Central title twice in a row now but it is the World Series title they are after this season.
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