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Tigers 3B Miguel Cabrera named 1 of 5 finalists for 2012 AL MVP

The Baseball Writers Association of America listed Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera as an American League MVP finalist on Wednesday.

By Dave Ryan
Ezra Shaw

Following one of the most impressive individual seasons in recent history, Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera was named a finalist for the 2012 American League MVP award on Wednesday, according to the BBWAA's official Twitter account.

Cabrera led all of baseball with 44 home runs and 139 RBI this year for Detroit, and finished narrowly behind San Francisco's Buster Posey for the best batting average in the majors, .336 to .330. Cabrera's improbable Triple Crown-winning campaign makes him the obvious favorite for the award, but he still faces a surprising amount of competition from the other contenders.

Widely considered the only player capable of knocking off Cabrera for the award after such a historic season, Angels outfielder Mike Trout joined the trio of Adrian Beltre (Rangers), Robinson Cano (Yankees) and Josh Hamilton (Rangers) to round out the five finalists. A shoo-in for the American League's Rookie of the Year award, Trout hit 30 home runs and stole 49 bases over just 139 games this year for the Angels. The official winner will be announced on MLB Network on Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. ET.