Kim Klement – US Presswire
Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers is just a few days away from winning the prestigious Triple Crown. Cabrera would be the first player to win the Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967.
The Triple Crown is the ultimate feat for a hitter. As of Tuesday morning, Cabrera leads the league in all three categories. He has a .329 batting average, four points ahead of Mike Trout, who is at .325. He also has 137 RBI’s with Josh Hamilton second at 127. Lastly, and maybe the category Cabrera is most in danger of losing, is his 44 home runs. Hamilton is second with 43 home runs. With two games to play, Cabrera is set up to win the Triple Crown if he can hold onto the home run lead.
This made me wonder which Baltimore Orioles players are most likely to challenge for the Triple Crown. Even though I find it unlikely any of the players on the Orioles roster would ever win the Triple Crown, I think Adam Jones has the capability of winning it one day. Jones posses the power and batting eye needed to hit for average and power.
Jones is having a breakout year hitting .288 with 32 home runs and 81 RBI’s. Jones is still just 27 years old, however, and he is coming into his prime. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a few seasons with even better numbers in the future.
Unfortunately the Orioles don’t posses many players on their current roster who could challenge for the Triple Crown. This isn’t a knock on the Orioles, because they have a great balanced lineup from top to bottom. There is a reason no one has won the Triple Crown in 45 years. It’s extremely difficult to do!
The only other player I could see on the Orioles possibly contending for a Triple Crown in the future is 20-year-old third baseman Manny Machado. Machado already has shown flashes of power and he hasn’t even finished filling into his body. The potential is there for 30 home run plus power. Also, this kid is only 20 years old! If Machado continues to improve, there is no telling how good he can be. He already looks like a solid major league hitter.
I think Cabrera will end up winning the Triple Crown, but he will have to hold off Hamilton for the home run lead. For now Orioles fans will have to be satisfied with their first winning season and playoff appearance in 15 years. Who knows, maybe next year Orioles fans can be celebrating one of our players challenging for the Triple Crown.
