Why Should Miguel Cabrera be the AL MVP?

Now that the Tigers are essentially eliminated from the postseason, it would appear that Cabrera's hopes of winning the MVP are gone too. But I disagree, and here are 7 good reasons why.


1) There is no other frontrunner.


For the Yankees it could go to A-Rod (2nd in AL in RBI), Robbie Cano (5th in batting average), or Teixiera (4th in RBI, 4th in HR).

For Texas, it could be Josh Hamilton (1st in batting average) or Vlad Guerrero (5th in RBI).

For the Twins, it could be Mauer (3rd in batting average) or Delmon Young (6th in RBI, 6th in average) but you could also make a case for Morneau or Kubel.

For Tampa Bay, Longoria is 10th in RBI and 18th in average; Carl Crawford is 1st in triples and 2nd in steals but only 13th in average and 20th in RBIs.

And for the White Sox, the frontrunner is Paul Konerko, 3rd in HR, 8th in RBI, but only 14th in average.

The point is - none of the teams competing for a playoff spot in the AL have a clear MVP of their team. Cabrera is far and away the MVP of the Tigers.


2) Cabrera leads not only the AL, but the entire MLB, in on-base percentage.


3) Cabrera leads not only the AL, but the entire MLB, in slugging percentage.


4) Cabrera is either first or second in all three triple crown categories. He's 2nd in average, 2nd in HR, and 1st in RBI. No AL player has been able to say the same since 2002.


5) Cabrera had the longest hitting streak of any player in the MLB this season - 20 games.


6) He did all this despite a lousy supporting cast and injuries to 3 of the Tigers' best hitters. If not for Cabrera, the Tigers would be 30 games below .500, instead of just .500 games below. It's safe to say that's he has accounted for more wins that any single player in the MLB this season.

7) Did I mention he's having one of the best statistical seasons that anyone in baseball history has ever had?

.340 batting average, including 37 doubles (2nd most in AL) and 31 homers (2nd most in AL), along with 71 walks (3rd most), 20 of which were intentional walks (by far the most in the AL).

145 hits (5th most in AL), 84 runs scored (3rd most), and amazingly, he doesn't rank in the top 50 in the AL in strikeouts despite being among the leaders in at-bats.

His slugging percentage is .649, which is considerably higher than anyone else in MLB, even Pujols who has led in slugging for three straight seasons.

His OPS (slugging + on-base percentage) is at 1.082. That's the best OPS anyone from the AL has had since Jim Thome in 2002.

In summary, if Miguel Cabrera doesn't win the AL MVP this season, I'm going to stop being a baseball fan because nothing makes any sense.