Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera beat Los Angeles Angels rookie Mike Trout for American League MVP in a vote that wasn’t as close as most people expected.
Cabrera received 22 of 28 first-place votes and 362 overall points; Trout got the other six first-place votes and 281 overall points. Both players were worthy candidates … and both are former Midwest League players.
Cabrera hit .268 with 7 HR and 66 RBI in 110 games with the 2001 Kane County Cougars. This season he won baseball’s first Triple Crown in 45 years.
Trout batted .326 with 30 HR, 83 RBI, 49 SB and 129 runs scored in 139 games for the Cedar Rapids Kernels in 2010, when he was named the Midwest League’s MVP and Prospect of the Year. Earlier this week he was unanimously voted AL Rookie of the Year after turning in one of the greatest rookie performances in baseball history.
You can see the voting breakdown here on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s website.
Hey Craig:
What’s your take on Cabrera vs. Trout for MVP? I heard a debate on the radio about it today. The numbers (specifically WAR, wins against replacement) say Trout really should have been the runaway winner. The WAR stat to me is the best measure of a player’s value. That being said, I’ve always thought the MVP should lean toward a player who helped his team get to the postseason. Putting that into the equation, I think Cabrera gets the nod.
What do you think? And how’s the book coming?
Take care,
Tim