Saluting Miggy

I do not want to let the regular season recede too far in the rear view mirror without noting the  positively fantastic season of Detroit's Miguel Cabrera, who won the Triple Crown in the American League this year.  (I don't have to explain what that means, do I?)  This feat has been accomplished in the modern era of major league baseball only 13 times before this season, and was last accomplished in 1967 - FORTY-FIVE YEARS AGO!

By contrast, there have been 276 no-hitters pitched in the modern era.  While true greats like  Walter Johnson, Bob Feller, Sandy Koufax, Warren Spahn and others have pitched no-hitters, so have journeymen and scrubinis like Bobo Holloman, Bo Belinsky, Don Larsen, Bob Moose, and Francisco Cordova.  A no-hitter is a great accomplishment, but history has proven that almost anyone can throw one.

By contrast, here are the guys who have won a Triple Crown:

Nap Lajoie
Ty Cobb
Rogers Hornsby (twice!)
Chuck Klein
Jimmy Foxx
Lou Gehrig
Joe Medwick
Ted Williams
Mickey Mantle
Frank Robinson
Carl Yastrzemski

That's it.  That's the list.  What else do these guys have in common besides winning the Triple Crown?  They are all, each one of them, in the Hall of Fame.

Miguel Cabrera has truly joined Baseball Royalty in 2012.

The Prince of Detroit

Last week I was kicking around in my mind, but never got around to doing it, the idea of a post on Prince Fielder. About he was still out there as a baseball free agent; about how no one seemed to be offering him the big money, long term deal he wanted; about how with the big spenders (Yanks, Red Sox, Angels) not in the market for a first baseman, he might not actually get a big money, long term deal; about how perhaps fear for his expansive physique might work against him in getting a big money, long term deal.

Well, as Emily Litella used to say on Saturday Night Live, "never mind."

Nine years, $214 million from the Tigers. Wow. The Tigers now become a big time player in the American League, and the overwhelming favorite in the AL Central.

And in Miguel Cabrera and Fielder, they could also have two guys who could team up with Ndamukong Suh to anchor the Detroit Lions defensive line. And don't forget Victor Martinez, probably out for the season due to injury, also makes up the Beef Trust Review that is now the Tigers.

Does Cabrera now shift back to third place, which he last played about 50 pounds ago? And if Fielder becomes a full time DH, does he hit 350 pounds by the All-Star break? And what is Fielder going to look like by the end of that 9 year contract?

However, on a serious note, the Tigers win the division last year, attendance increases, and the team goes out and gets Prince Fielder. The Pirates flirt with contention for 2/3 of the season last year, attendance increases by 20%, and the team goes out and gets Clint Barmes. How sad.