Nearly every year of my life, at some point during the baseball season, I heard rumblings of the possibility of a Triple Crown winner. Similar to horse racing’s Triple Crown, these rumblings usually came from former athletes or analysts who would romanticize the great feat, hearkening back to the days when it was more common.
On Wednesday night Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers won the Triple Crown for the first time since Carl Yastrzemski won it in 1967, and just the 15th player in history to win the elusive award.
This award was thought by many to be impossible in this day and age. Remember, in the 45 years since the last winner, baseball has seen better training, managing, equipment, athletes and of course, the Steroid Era. If A-Rod and Barry Bonds couldn’t do it on juice, then why put faith in anyone else?
The reason for its rarity is that the three statistical categories involved in the Triple Crown, batting average, home runs and RBI, are contradictory. A player who hits for average is cautious at the plate and just looks to get on base. A power hitter wants to swing. Take Adam Dunn for example. The Chicago White Sox designated hitter is usually in the running for the home run title. This year was no exception, he finished with 41 home runs compared to Cabrera’s 44. However, he hit .204 compared to Cabrera’s .330. To lead the league in all three major categories is absurd. Players today are much more specialized, which only goes to show what an incredible talent Cabrera is.
However, this, like all things involved with baseball, is tainted. The steroid stink has not left the game, especially with players like MVP candidate Melky Cabrera getting caught with high testosterone levels this year. Numbers no longer hold the gravity they once did, which seems unnatural for a game like baseball that is, in reality, an individual sport.
On top of the skepticism, Cabrera has had his fair share of issues off of the field, such as drinking and driving and domestic abuse. Aside from that, he is a Venezuela native who doesn’t speak English well and frequently shies away from the spotlight. In a game like baseball that is dominated by strong and flamboyant personalities, Cabrera comes off as uninteresting.
There are many reasons to ignore this achievement and really, baseball in general. Once considered America’s pastime, baseball was the most popular sport, bolstering an avid fan base. Now, some stadiums don’t have the kind of attendance they used to have and people under 40 often scoff at the idea of watching nine full innings of baseball.
A Triple Crown victory can be revitalizing for baseball. After all, this is a rare award for baseball that is free of the connotations of steroids. It is not achieved through brute strength like Barry Bond’s home run record, it is something that requires a great deal of skill, timing and awareness of the game.
Maybe in a month we will have all forgotten about the 15th Triple Crown in history and have migrated our thoughts back to the NFL, college football, and the presidential election. Maybe baseball is becoming a dead sport. But maybe something this incredible has the ability to inject life back into the beautiful game we once loved.
@aubreywieberODE