Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera is having the season of a lifetime.
After going 4-for-5 with a home run in Monday night's 6-3 victory over the Royals, the Venezuelan slugger now holds the American League-lead in home runs, batting average and RBIs.
If he can make it through the next two games still leading in those categories, he will win the American League Triple Crown, something that has not been done in over 40 years.
Cabrera is hitting for a .329 average this season, which is just a bit better than Los Angeles Angels rookie Mike Trout (.325) and Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer (.322). He leads the league with 137 RBIs and 44 home runs over Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, who has 127 and 43 in those categories respectively.
Many players have had impressive seasons in recent years, but none have been on the cusp of history quite like Cabrera. No player has won a Triple Crown in baseball since Carl Yastrzemski for the Boston Red Sox in 1967.
According to the ESPN.com, "Cabrera currently has the outright lead in all three Triple Crown categories. The last player to win the Triple Crown while having sole possession of first place in each of the three stats was Frank Robinson of the Orioles in 1966."
To put things in perspective on how long it has been since a player won the Triple Crown: the price of a gallon of gas was 35 cents in 1967. The last National League Triple Crown came in 1937 by Joe Medwick, an outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. That season, Medwick hit .374 with 31 home runs and 154 RBIs.
Yastrzemski himself spoke to ESPNBoston.com last week about Cabrera and the Triple Crown itself. At the time Cabrera was leading both batting average and RBIs, and trailed Hamilton by one home run.
"We were so involved in the pennant race, I didn't know I'd won the Triple Crown until the next day when I read it in the paper,'' said Yastrzemski.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, "Cabrera is the first player since Yastrzemski to lead his league in batting average and RBIs while being within two of the home run leader with two weeks or fewer to go in the season. No player since Yaz led his league in two of the three Triple Crown categories in a season and finished second in the third category."
Cabrera now sits alone in all three categories and with two games remaining, it is looking more liklely that he will accomplish it.
"Somebody's going to do it, whether Cabrera this year or next year,'' Yastrzemski said. "I'm surprised that it's gone on this long, to be perfectly honest. When (Pete) Rose broke (Ty) Cobb's hit record, I never thought that would happen, and when (Cal) Ripken broke (Lou) Gehrig's consecutive game record, I never thought that would happen, either."
Whether he wins the Triple Crown this year or not, Cabrera's stats have been electric. He set career highs in hits this season, with 203, and has added 40 doubles and 109 runs scored.
According to ESPN.com, Cabrera is tied with Hank Greenberg and Cecil Fielder for the fourth-most home runs in a single season by a Tigers player. He also helped Detroit make the postseason in consecutive years for the first time since the 1934-35 seasons.
Cabrera has had a stellar season, but amazingly, it might not be enough to win him the Most Valuable Player award. While Cabrera has received votes in each of his nine seasons and has finished in the top five in the past three years, some voters think Angels rookie Mike Trout is the pick for MVP.
Trout is having a historic season himself, hitting .325 with 30 home runs, 83 RBIs and a .564 slugging percentage. He also has 48 stolen bases, making him the only rookie in history to hit 30 home runs and steal 40 bases.
Cabrera busted onto the scene in 2003 after getting called up to the majors by the Florida Marlins. He played a big part in the playoffs for the team and hit a home run off Roger Clemens in the World Series, which the Marlins won.
He soon established himself as one of the premier hitters in the game, hitting for at least 25 home runs and 100 RBIs for each of his four full seasons with the Marlins. He continued his ascent with the Tigers, hitting at least 30 home runs and 100 RBIs in his last four seasons. In 2011 he hit for a career high .344 batting average.
Cabrera has made seven All-Star teams, won a batting title in 2011 and is a three-time Silver Slugger award winner.
Cabrera seems poised to win his first MVP, considering he led his team to the playoffs and Trout did not. But, stranger things have happened, this is baseball after all.
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