It's been a tough road for the Detroit Tigers this year. In fact, it's been a tough couple of years for the Detroit Tigers. Losing a seven-game lead in the last month of the season on a walk-off single to the Minnesota Twins was tough to accept.
It's a year later, and the Tigers have all their claws bitten off because of the nervous wreck they're in. After a month and a half of building a respectable record of 45-37 and gaining possession of first place, they are currently four games under .500, 12 games behind Minnesota in the AL Central, and 15 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card race.
On top of that, it has been brought to the media's attention today that Magglio Ordonez may be out for the rest of the season. Carlos Guillen is currently on his third stint on the DL this season with knee problems. Joel Zumaya is… well, we all know about him: the disabled list is his home away from home. Armando Galarraga just managed to get his first win since June 24. Rick Porcello is having a pretty horrendous sophomore year in the Big Leagues with a 5.76 ERA and a 1.570 WHIP.
Other than a couple of rookies who have proven that they can play with the big boys in Austin Jackson and Brennan Boesch, and a couple of solid relievers in Jose Valverde and Phil Coke, there really isn't anything for the city of Detroit to be excited about…
…Except for one man: Miguel Cabrera!
A lot of people say that Miguel Cabrera is having the best season of his career so far. With about a month and a half left until the season is over, I'd have to say those people aren't far from correct. Miggy C has really made a name for himself this year, maintaining a .340 batting average, and leading the American League in on-base percentage (.432), slugging percentage (.646), and OPS (1.078); his OPS+ obviously leads the league, as well (184).
When looking at the "tallying" numbers, he became the first Major League player to knock in 100 runs in the 2010 season yesterday, and has also managed to hit 31 home runs, slap 37 doubles, collect 148 hits, and score 85 times; he has cracked the top five in each and every one of those categories. If he keeps this pace up for the rest of the season, he could see career highs in home runs (41), RBI (134), and all the percentages.
The one thing that he has yet to do that stands out is get to the 200 hit mark for a single season. He has collected 195+ hits for three seasons, but has never gotten to 200. He is on the pace of getting 196 hits by the end of the season, so it's not a long shot if he does it.
With the chances of Detroit making the playoffs being reduced after every Twins, White Sox, and/or Rays victory and every Tigers defeat, it doesn't look like the American League will see the MVP award go to a player on a playoff team. However, there are a few decent contenders for the award, including Texas Rangers' Josh Hamilton and Vladimir Guerrero, New York Yankees' Robinson Cano, and Minnesota's Delmon Young and Justin Morneau; Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays may be a dark horse. Kevin Youkilis and Alex Rodriguez were in the discussion, but with injuries they probably won't be in the talks that much anymore.
I don't think there's any question that Miguel Cabrera has the numbers to win the AL MVP award. He has always been a great player for years, but nearly as recognized as he should be. The highest he's ever finished in the MVP voting is fourth, which was last year.
This has got to be his year. His incredible success has finally been acknowledged by the baseball analysts a lot more and baseball fans have finally been paying attention to him. He seems to take every at-bat more seriously, working the count a lot more, and has become very productive with two strikes. He's been keeping a lot healthier, as well.
He has cleaned up his act, got in shape, and started off the season with the right attitude. It's four and a half months later, and it doesn't seem like his approach of the game has become any less positive… which is exactly why he has become the most feared hitter in baseball.
So, what do you guys think? Does Miguel Cabrera deserve the American League MVP award? Are there any names that jump out at you, other than his?
Here are a couple of questions for all baseball fans to ponder:
* If a team is not a contender to make the playoffs, but a player on that particular team has done extremely well to the point where he is arguably the best player in the league, do you think he should win the MVP award over a player who has led his team to the playoffs?
* Is there a difference between the league's best player and the league's most valuable player?
* Alex Rodriguez won his first MVP award in 2003 with the Texas Rangers. They had a pretty mediocre season that year, with a 71-91 record. That year, the Yankees, Red Sox, Twins, and Athletics made it to the playoffs, and the top two candidates in the American League MVP voting were A-Rod and Carlos Delgado. Granted, they had better numbers than (just about) everyone else on the list (by far). Did one of them really deserve to win that award?
* I remember back in 2006 when I read about how Albert Pujols said he was "snubbed" from winning what could've been his second MVP award, because he thinks that the honor should go to someone on a playoff team. That year, the Cardinals ended up winning the World Series; go figure. Did Pujols have a point?
* What do YOU think it takes to win an MLB Most Valuable Player award?
Tell me everything in the comment section below…
(Fun fact: Five ballplayers came into the 2010 season with 100+ RBI for at least six consecutive seasons: Mark Teixeira, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Bobby Abreu, and Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera became the first player to keep his streak going...)
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