By Mackenzie Liddell & Jeff Simmons, SPORTSNET.CA
The Triple Crown might be baseball’s most prestigious individual feat and for the first time in 45 years, someone is closing in on the prize.
In 1967, Boston’s Carl Yastrzemski became the most recent player to lead his league in home runs, batting average and RBIs, and with two weeks to go in the 2012 season, Detroit Tigers’ slugger Miguel Cabrera is making a strong late bid to do the same.
Entering play Thursday, Cabrera leads the American League in batting average (.333) and RBIs (130) but stands one home run behind AL leader Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers.
Only 15 players in MLB history have won the Triple Crown with only Ted Williams (1942, 1947) and Rogers Hornsby (1922, 1925) having done it twice.
In more recent years, Albert Pujols (2003, 2009), Barry Bonds (2002) and Larry Walker (1997) have come to close, but none have been able to pull it off.
A lot has changed in baseball over the past 45 years, including the perceived value of certain offensive statistics, batting average and RBIs chief among them, raising the question:
Should the definition of the Triple Crown be changed?
With advanced statistics taking on an ever-greater prominence and acceptance within the baseball world, many have begun to discount the value of batting average and RBIs while placing a much greater emphasis on stats such as WAR (wins above replacement)) and OPS (on-base plus slugging).
Entering play Thursday, Cabrera leads the AL in OPS (1.014), is second in runs (101) and hits (190), and boasts the third-best WAR (6.5).
What if Cabrera wins Triple Crown but not MVP? It wouldnt be the 1st time it happened. Check out the list: yfrog.com/ng1e33j
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 20, 2012
While Cabrera continues to lead in the traditional statistical categories, Los Angeles Angels rookie outfielder Mike Trout remains the popular choice for the AL MVP award because of his all-around play and superior WAR. Trout trails Cabrera in batting average, home runs and RBIs but his 10.2 WAR is far and away ahead of Cabrera’s 6.5.
As WAR continues to become a more critical indicator of performance in today’s game, should it be included in the Triple Crown?
Are the #MLB Triple Crown stats outdated? If yes, what should the new Triple Crown be? bit.ly/OGYsZ9 Tell us with #SNTripleCrown
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 20, 2012
So you tells us: What should the Triple Crown be? Tell us in the comment section below, or on Twitter using the hashtag: #SNTripleCrown.
We may run your tweets in this story below.
POLL:
What should the modern Triple Crown consist of?
$(“#poll_10760”).v2Poll({poll_id: 10760});
