Tigers manager Jim Leyland watches with a smile as Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera gets a congratulatory phone call from MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. (Photo courtesy of the Detroit Tigers)

Detroit Tigers 3B Miguel Cabrera became the first player in 45 years to win the Triple Crown. He led the American League outright in all three categories, posting a .330 batting average, 44 home runs and 139 RBI.

The last time a player won the Triple Crown was in 1967, when Boston Red Sox OF Carl Yastrzemski did it by hitting .326, 44 HR and 121 RBI.

Cabrera played for the Kane County Cougars in 2001, hitting .268 with 7 HR and 66 RBI. He primarily played shortstop (in 98 games), but also manned third base in 8 games for the Cougars.

Miguel Cabrera in 2001

Former Bee starts Game 162 for A’s

RHP A.J. Griffin, who began last season with the Burlington Bees, got the start for the Oakland A’s in their winner-takes-all A.L. West showdown with the Texas Rangers in Game 162.

The A’s won 12-5 to complete a three-game sweep of the Rangers and knock Texas out of first place, despite Griffin’s worst start in the major leagues. (He lasted only 2.2 innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and two walks.) Nonetheless, Griffin had a great start to his big-league career this year: 7-1, 3.06 ERA, 64 strikeouts in 82.1 IP (15 starts).

Griffin went 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 52 IP for the 2011 Bees.

Vizquel singles in final at-bat

Omar Vizquel singled in the last at-bat of his 24-year career in the major leagues. He ended his career with the Toronto Blue Jays but is best known for his defensive prowness at shortstop for the Cleveland Indians from 1994 to 2004. His major-league career began with the Seattle Mariners and also included stints with the San Francisco Giants, the Texas Rangers and the Chicago White Sox.

He is 45, born the same year that Yaz won the Triple Crown.

Vizquel played 105 games with the 1986 Wausau Timbers, a now-defunct Midwest League team that was affiliated with the Mariners. He hit .213 with 4 HR, 28 RBI and 19 SB. He made 16 errors in 497 chances.

The Wausau franchise moved to Kane County in 1991.