March 16, 2008
Crowning Cabrera
Cecil Cooper believes Miguel Cabrera can win the triple crown:
Cooper made that clear last week, when he assessed how Miguel Cabrera would do in the American League as he joins the Tigers from the Marlins.
"He looks like he's made a conscious effort to do some things physically," Cooper said. "He's a specimen now.
"To do that with the talent that he (has) offensively, I'll tell you: He's going to wreak some havoc in that league. And now he's got some older guys around him who know what to do. He's going to be dangerous. He might hit .340.
"If nobody has a monster year with home runs, he could be a Triple Crown threat, because he drives in those runs. Not only does he hit homers, but he drives in runs with base hits. He's a clutch hitter."
No one won the triple crown in the last forty seasons. It's even difficult to win it on your team. For example, last year Alex Rodriguez hit .314, led the league in home runs and RBI, but finished third on his team in batting average.
The Tigers did have a team triple crown winner last year in Magglio Ordonez, albeit with a low home run total of 28. It's not hard to imagine, with that lineup, Polanco posting the best batting average, Ordonez driving in the most runs, and Cabrera hitting the most homers.
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Posted by David Pinto at
11:22 AM
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Anything is possible. I would rate the chance of Miguel Cabrera winning the Triple Crown around slim to none. Beating ARod at both HR and RBI *AND* everyone else in the league in BA? Think about it, 2 years ago Mauer, Jeter and Cano battled it out for the BA crown. Every year it's someone new having a career year in BA. While it can happen to Miguel, also beating the 'regulars' in HR and RBI, I don't think it will ever happen.
Sabernar.....you should have thought of Yaz's 1967 triple crown season before you said ...."don't think it will ever happen". Hasn't baseball taught you anything?
I think baseball has taught us that when these things happen, the typical reaction is, "Huh. I didn't see that coming."
Sure, the next triple crown could be Cabrera. Or anyone else having a career year with the right guys in front of him.
I think Cabrera absolutely has a chance for a triple crown in the next few years. His line of last year of .320, 119 RBI and 34 HR, plus moving to the much more hitter friendly park in Detroit...I'd say his opportunity is excellent.
I would say he's most likely to win the batting title - he's a line-drive hitter with power, and in terms of raw skill, might only be behind Ichiro in the AL in terms of "true talent" BA. RBIs will be a little tougher. ARod has a lineup in front of him with a much better OBP. And do we even know for sure if Cabrera is batting third or fourth? He's still the "new guy" over there, and I don't see someone like Sheffield taking kindly to batting 5th or 6th so the new guy can hit cleanup.
Home runs will probably be the toughest. He's clearly a 30-35 HR guy, and it will probably take at least 45 to win that category in the AL - a tougher pitching league than the NL, no less. I can see a lot of guys - Thome, Ortiz, ARod, Pena, and maybe a few others, hitting 45 before I can see Cabrera doing it. I think he's in for a lot of doubles...
If you look at the leaugue leaders from the last couple of years he'll be extremely lucky to lead the league in any category. That's no knock it's just that he'd have to have a monster year and hope for other guys to drop off. Secondly the Tigers will most likely be in a pennant race which generally doesn't help guys going for individual achievements.