Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci selects Miguel Cabrera as AL MVP

Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated published his season-end awards picks on Tuesday. Verducci said that Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera is his American League Most Valuable Player, and fully expects him to win the award.

Verducci cited the following "stat" as the difference in picking Cabrera over Angels super-rookie Mike Trout:

Cabrera has hit 11 home runs in September/October while driving in 28 runs in the 29 games. The Tigers were three games out with 15 to play and roared past Chicago to win the AL Central. The Angels went home.

Cabrera is leading the American League in all three Triple Crown categories with two games remaining. The 29-year-old has hit 44 home runs, driven in 137 runs and owns a .329/.393/.608 slash line in 692 plate appearances. Trout, 21, has hit 30 home runs while stealing 48 bases and scoring 129 runs, both league-leading numbers. Trout has a .306/.378/.533 line in 630 plate appearances.