It has been 70 whole years since the Tigers last had an American League MVP that didn’t toe the slab for the team. In that time, the team has seen three World Series titles, two stadiums and a slew of players in the Old English D adorned uniform. In recent memory the Tigers have not had a player with the caliber of Miguel Cabrera. While recent feats of Magglio Ordonez and Ivan Rodriguez over the past five years seemed impressive at the time, nothing has compared to the season that number 24 has put together. With his season now behind him, it’s only right to bestow upon him the AL MVP for 2010.
Will it be Cabrera or Texas’ Josh Hamilton? Looking at the stats up close, there’s quite a bit of similarity:
Games played – Cabrera 150, Hamilton 130
Batting average – Hamilton .361 (1st), Cabrera .328 (3rd)
Home runs – Cabrera 38 (2nd), Hamilton 31 (6th)
RBIs – Cabrera 126 (1st), Hamilton 97 (12th)
At the end of the day, the big question for voters will come down to the team that either player competes on. While it is considered an advantage that Hamilton plays on a playoff-bound team, it should be pointed out that Hamilton also has a major weapon around him in Vlad Guerrero. Cabrera essentially had spurts of players around him, but nothing consistent or solid. Cabrera had nearly twice as many walks as Hamilton, and rarely saw more than one good pitch each at-bat. If voters really search the meaning of the term ‘MVP’ they’ll cast their votes for Detroit’s own.
