Miguel Cabrera is tantalizingly close to unlocking the doors of a musty triple crown fraternity that has admitted no new members in 45 years.
Babe Ruth never won it. Neither did Hank Aaron or Willie Mays. Even the beefed-up sluggers in the era before steroid testing could not alter that part of the record book. The triple crown is a relic, and not just because it has been out of use for so long.
Cabrera is the A.L. leader in batting average (.329) and runs batted in (133), while trailing the Texas Rangers’ Josh Hamilton in home runs, 43 to 42. No player has led his league in all three categories since Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox in 1967.
“I’ve got to get lucky, man, because there are a lot of great players,” said Cabrera, who went 0 for 3 Tuesday to end a 14-game hitting streak. “They’re not going to let me do it, so I’ve got to work hard for that. Our goal right now is winning.”
