The best hitter and pitcher in baseball reside in the Motor City.
A day after Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander secured the AL pitching Triple Crown, Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera secured the AL batting title. Cabrera edged out Boston's Adrian Gonzalez and Texas' Michael Young, and unlike Jose Reyes, the NL's batting champion, Cabrera played a full nine innings on Wednesday en route to winning the AL batting title.
Here are the final batting average numbers for the 2011 season:
1. Miguel Cabrera - .344
t-2. Adrian Gonzalez - .338
t-2. Michael Young - .338
4. Victor Martinez - .330
5. Jacoby Ellsbury - .321
Considering how many question marks were surrounding Cabrera following his DUI in February, it's remarkable that he had such an outstanding season. It's also remarkable that he managed to fly under the radar for most of the season despite putting up such great numbers. Only recently has he started to be mentioned as a possible MVP candidate, for example.
Cabrera isn't flying under the radar anymore now that he has secured his first career batting title and is leading the Tigers into the playoffs. He has returned to the spotlight, and unlike before the season, the attention he is garnering is because of what he is doing on the field. That's exactly how it should be, and Cabrera deserves kudos for how he has handled himself -- on and off the field -- ever since that ugly incident back in February.