Score one for the old guys.
Tigers third baseman and Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera was named the AL’s Most Valuable Player last night, a victory for those who favor traditional, old-school statistics over the advanced sabremetrics which pointed convincingly to Angels rookie sensation Mike Trout. The 21-year-old center fielder, who took the game by storm after he was called up from the minors in late April, finished a distant second.
A few minutes earlier, Giants catcher Buster Posey was selected the NL MVP, easily outdistancing Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun, the 2011 winner, and Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates.
Posey, who received 27 of 32 first-place votes on ballots cast by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, became just the third catcher in baseball history to win an MVP, World Series title and Rookie of the Year, joining Johnny Bench and Thurman Munson. He is also the first catcher to win the MVP in the NL since Bench in 1972.
“I don’t believe it. I’m very excited,” Cabrera said. “I’m like, I don’t have any words to explain how excited I am right now. I never expect I’m going to win, because Mike Trout had an unbelievable season. I’m very surprised.”
He needn’t have been. Cabrera, 29, received 22 of 28 first-place votes. He batted .330 with 44 homers and 138 RBIs to become the game’s first Triple Crown winner since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 as the Tigers advanced to the World Series, beating the Yankees along the way.
“I thought it was gonna be close,” Cabrera said. “I don’t know how many points I win by, but I thought it was going to be a good race.”
Cabrera also became the second consecutive Tiger to be named MVP, following pitcher Justin Verlander in 2011.
Trout won the AL Rookie of the Year Award this week after a season in which he hit .326 with 30 homers, 83 RBIs and 49 stolen bases in 54 tries. He received six first-place votes. Adrian Beltre of the Rangers, the only other player to appear on every ballot, finished third.
Robinson Cano of the Yankees finished fourth and Derek Jeter seventh. Closer Rafael Soriano and outfielder/DH Raul Ibanez also received votes. Mets third baseman David Wright finished sixth in the NL voting while R.A. Dickey, named the league’s Cy Young Award winner on Wednesday, also received MVP consideration.
With the suspended Melky Cabrera having taken himself out of the running, Posey, 25, was declared the NL batting champion with a .336 average, joining two-time winner Ernie Lombardi as the only catchers in the league’s history to win batting titles.
Posey, drove in 103 runs, hit 24 home runs and caught Matt Cain’s perfect game.
“I think it’s an accomplishment that’s shared with the whole Giants organization,” said Posey, who helped defeat Cabrera’s Giants in the World Series. “It starts at the top with the great ownership and front office putting great guys on the field.”