Last year, Miguel Cabrera became the first man in 45 years to lead his league in home runs, RBI and batting average. This year, he could become the first player ever to win the Triple Crown in consecutive seasons.
Only two men have ever won multiple Triple Crowns, and their names are Ted Williams and Rogers Hornsby. Williams accomplished the feat five years apart, in 1942 and 1947, but might have won in 1943 had he not been serving his country during World War II. He nearly won in 1941, when his .406 batting average and 37 home runs paced the major leagues, but his 120 RBI fell five short of Joe DiMaggio‘s league-leading total.
Hornsby also came tantalizingly close to becoming a repeat Triple Crown winner. He won his first in 1922 but came within an eyelash of winning the year before. Rajah won the batting crown (.397) and RBI title (126) in 1921 but his 21 long balls were bested by High Pockets Kelly‘s 23. Hornsby won his second Triple Crown in 1925.
While it’s still way too early to be talking about a serious Triple Crown run, the reigning MVP’s hot start has put him on track to make history. Miguel Cabrera currently leads the major leagues in both batting average (.361) and RBI (69) while ranking second in home runs (18), just two behind league-leader Chris Davis. The way Cabrera’s swinging right now, he could make up that ground in one game.
Davis, who’s been every bit as impressive at the plate this year, is the only obstacle standing in the way of Miguel Cabrera’s quest for another Triple Crown. Cabrera leads teammate Jhonny Peralta in the batting race by a considerable margin (22 points) and is a good bet to win his third straight batting title. As for his power, it’s possible the best is yet to come given how well he finished last season — 31 home runs and 88 RBI from this date forward. While it may be almost impossible to sustain his current level of run production (he’s on pace for 180 RBI, thanks to his absurd .493/.589/.933 batting line with runners in scoring position), he could benefit from even more RBI opportunities once Austin Jackson returns from his hamstring injury at the end of the week.
Until then, look for Miguel Cabrera to continue his torrid hitting throughout the remainder of Detroit’s current road trip through Kansas City and Minnesota.