As much as I hate to say it, a player from the Detroit Tigers has won the Triple Crown. As a Twins fan, its bittersweet that the first player in half a century to accomplish the feat, did so at my team’s expense, but Miguel Cabrera had a pretty ridiculous season, no doubt. He was battling the last few weeks with Joe Mauer for the batting title and Josh Hamilton for the HR title, however last night, everything is in the books.
Because this hobby, especially baseball, is built around accomplishments and potential, you might have guessed this chase would have meant crazy jumps in his prices. Now that the feat is complete, his value has definitely skyrocketed, and might do so more if the Tigers end up winning the Series.
Here are some prices you wont believe:
2000 Topps Traded Miguel Cabrera Rookie Auto
2000 Topps Traded Miguel Cabrera Rookie Auto BGS 9
2007 Upper Deck Artifacts Miguel Cabrera Bat Knob 1/1
2000 Topps Chrome Traded Miguel Cabrera RC PSA 10 – Yes, even his non-auto RCs are selling for huge money!
Funny thing is, Cabrera isnt even a pick on some of the MVP ballot because he was playing on a team that also had Prince Fielder and Justin Verlander’s great seasons to help them. Mike Trout, on the other hand, was the ONLY reason the Angels were in it at all. Trout’s cards have been the story of the year, and have even eclipsed Golden Boy Bryce Harper. That is impressive in its own right.
The Triple Crown might never happen again, so we should definitely savor the opportunity to say we lived through one of these seasons. Even though batting average, RBIs, and HRs have been shown by Sabremetrics to not be the whole pie of a players worth, they are what everyone is measured on. As long as that’s the case. the crown will be talked about by everyone if someone is within reach. I mean, this isnt even Cabrera’s best season in the three categories, he just happened to perform above and beyond anyone else this year. If Hamilton had played a full season, he would have been projected to have more HRs than Cabrera anyways.
Regardless of what ifs, Cabrera is the man who did it, and he will carry that with him for the rest of his career. Maybe there is still time to get an inscription card done for Topps Five Star this year.
Well, let’s not totally overstate things:
“Mike Trout, on the other hand, was the ONLY reason the Angels were in it at all.”
After all, the Angels also have Pujols (30 HR, 105 RBI, 141 OPS+), Trumbo (32 HR, 95 RBI, 126 OPS+), A Cy Young Caliber year from Jered Weaver (although slowed by injury), and a strong performance down the stretch from Zach Greinke.
Which isn’t to say that Trout didn’t have an historic, incredible season and was a key reason that the Angels were in the playoff hunt. BUT, it wasn’t like they were Trout and a bunch of scrubs.