In 2012, Detroit Tigers’ third baseman Miguel Cabrera did something no man had done since 1967 when Carl Yastrzemski accomplished the feat. He took home the American League Triple Crown by leading the AL in batting average (.330), home runs (44), and runs batted in (139). Along with pitching ace Justin Verlander, Cabrera led the Tigers to a World Series appearance in 2012, in which they lost four games to zero to the San Francisco Giants. Cabrera is off to a similarly hot start at the plate this year, leading the majors in runs batted in and hits with 40 and 55 respectively. He’s also third in batting average with a mark of .369. His home runs at this point in the season are a little off pace from the AL leaders, as he only has seven so far.
Cabrera’s .369 batting average is the best start he’s gotten off to this far into a season in his career. He’s showing no signs of slowing down either, as he ripped off an 11-game hitting streak from April 30th to May 12th. During the streak he batted .373 which is just above his cumulative average for the season. If you were to look up "consistent" in the dictionary, there would be a picture of Cabrera's face next to the definition. However, can he sustain and even raise his average throughout the season to finish with a batting average of .400 or above?
That mark hasn’t been sustained throughout a season since 1941 when Ted Williams hit .406 and, as much as I’d like to see it happen again, won’t be done by Cabrera this season. Major League Baseball has been trending in favor of pitchers for several years now and sustaining a .400 batting average for a full 162 game season just isn’t doable, even for a hitter with as much talent as Cabrera. In this day and age, I feel as if a candidate for a .400 season would need to be able to leg out infield hits, something that Cabrera isn’t capable of. However, winning the Triple Crown again is certainly within the realm of possibility. He’s on pace for 175 runs batted in, more than any other player in the league, and is third in batting average right now. He does need to improve his home run numbers if he wants to repeat as the Triple Crown winner though. The most important thing for this perenial All-Star is to stay healthy!