This ESPN piece will not be welcome in Comerica Park; it highlights why Mike Trout should be MVP when Miguel Cabrera is on the verge of becoming the first Triple Crown winner in almost two generations (although John Hamilton took back the homer lead last night); I was on training wheels when Yaz one the last one in 1967.
Why? Well, the award is for the most valuable player, not the most valuable hitter. Were it the latter, Cabrera would be on great footing, leading the league in hitting and slugging, third in on base percentage and running away with OPS, a good 52 points ahead of the nearest competition in that halfway-house between traditional stats (a combo of slugging and on-base percentages) and hard-core sabermetrics.
However, Trout's running the bases well (leading the league in steals) as well as playing great defense in center field. Cabrera... well, he's better at third base than folks thought he was, but the second coming of Brooks Robinson, he isn't. When you add those factors together in Wins Above Replacement, Trout laps the field, 10.4 wins versus 6.7 for Miggy.
If Trout does win, it will be a sign that sabermetics has come of age, and the classic Triple Crown numbers aren't the be-all and end-all for sports-writers.
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