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| Credit: Toronto Sun Miguel Cabrera won the Triple Crown in 2012 for the first time since Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967. In 2012 Cabrera hit .330 with 44 home runs and 139 RBI. Through 74 games this season he is hitting .370 with 20 home runs and 75 RBI. |
If you want to debate who the best hitter in baseball has been the past three seasons you have to have Miguel Cabrera in the top three. Not only does he hit for power, as you want your three hole hitter to do, but he also hits for a very high average.
He is the guy the Tigers put in the three hole every day and know that they will get production. He also has Prince Fielder in the clean up spot to protect him which helps out also. An amazing stat that I just discovered is that Cabrera has been on base in 71 of the 74 games he has played in this season. That is just unheard of nowadays with all the specialists that teams have in their bullpen.
There is one thing standing in the way of Cabrera and consecutive Triple Crowns and his name is Chris Davis. Davis has come out of nowhere in 2013 to put up 27 home runs in his first 75 games. Davis in his fifth season and has hit 104 home runs in his career. Cabrera has the lead by a long shot in average but only holds a slim five RBI lead. The toughest category to make up ground would be the home runs, which Davis has a 7 home run lead over Cabrera.
After seeing a Triple Crown for the first time since 1967, Cabrera is spoiling all baseball fans by going after another one. The Triple Crown in my opinion is the greatest individual accolade a player can receive. Players like Ted Williams, Frank Robinson, Mickey Mantle and Roger Hornsby hit for the Triple Crown. What do they all have in common? They are all Hall of Famers. You have to be a great all around offensive player to earn it. Cabrera not only led in average to earn the batting title but led the league in three offensive categories (home runs, RBI, average).
I believe this is a great thing for the game of baseball. Not having a Triple Crown winner for forty-five years really got the baseball world talking last season. If he does it again I think the baseball world will explode with excitement. It's not every day that you see something like this and when it does happen you make sure you know where you were when it does. I would have never thought I would see it happen in my life time with all the great hitters now, but to see it twice in two seasons by the same player is absurd. I really hope he does it again but he has a uphill climb in order to do it.
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| Credit: Sports Illustrated Chris Davis has hit 27 home runs with 70 RBI in the first 74 games this season. He is on a tear and could be the only thing stopping Cabrera from consecutive Triple Crowns. |
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