OT - Miguel Cabrera, great hitter or greatest hitter?

Submitted by david from wyoming on

Two outs, bottom of the 8th inning in the game where the Tigers are trailing by a run. Runners on 1st and 2nd. Cabrera hits a homerun with a look on his face that could melt sand into glass. So the question...is Miguel a great hitter or the greatest hitter?

He has 19 home runs and 56 RBI's so far this season, both leading the AL.

(also, why is he 3rd in first base all star voting?!)

Mr. Maize

June 13th, 2010 at 9:11 PM ^

I feel the exact same way. He has the ability to be the best hitter in the game, but I think he isn't mentally ready to take it to the next level. He gives away too many at-bats. Which is scary considering what his numbers look like year after year.

Sac Fly

June 13th, 2010 at 3:55 PM ^

...  but the possibility he becomes one of the all time greats i think is very possible because he plays 1st base so durability isn't  concern like it would be if he played short like jeter, or catcher like piazza. he could go for 10 more years and be in cooperstown on the first ballot

NorthSideBlueFan

June 13th, 2010 at 5:29 PM ^

Arod, Mauer and probably Ryan Howard would be however.

He has the potential, but I just don't see him getting to the greatest/ legendary hitter level. However, I do see him getting to a level just a hair below the legends when it is all said and done.

woodsonfromleaf97

June 14th, 2010 at 1:02 PM ^

... is one of the most feared batters but is not one of the greatest in the league. Pujols, Mauer, Miggy and Utley (despite his current slump) are the best hitters in the league. Howard has been the best power hitter in the league since he was called up. By the end of his career he will not have the stats of Ruth or Aaron but he will go down as one of the best and most feared power hitters in history.

tricks574

June 13th, 2010 at 4:11 PM ^

baseball-reference.com has a feature where they compare a players stats to players who were at a similar age throughout history, and Miggy's list really shows how impressive he is. The list goes 10 deep, and Miggy's features Ken Griffey Jr., Hank Aaron, Orlando Cepeda, Frank Robinson, Mickey Mantle, Al Kaline, Joe Medwick, and Albert Pujols, all of which either are or will be Hall of Famers, as well as Hal Trosky and Andruw Jones, Trosky won't get into the hall, and Jones probably won't, but he can certainly make a case. The man is very good at hitting a baseball, and soon he will be involved in any discussion about who the best 1B of all time are.

bklein09

June 13th, 2010 at 4:17 PM ^

He definitely could be the best hitter in the MLB at the moment. But as far as overall consistency and dominance, Pujols has got it hands down IMO. 

Beavis

June 13th, 2010 at 4:36 PM ^

He is the greatest hitter on the Tigers.  That's for sure.  Possibly the greatest the Tigers have ever had.

But he's not the greatest in baseball right now (Pujols, no question) and he's not the greatest of all time (too many to mention).

Steve Lorenz

June 13th, 2010 at 5:00 PM ^

I think this is the year the torch of best hitter in baseball goes from Pujols to Cabrera. I realize that's a strong statement to make but it's something I stand by in believing. He's locked in and I don't think he really looks back for at least the next five years. 

AAB

June 13th, 2010 at 5:02 PM ^

Because Morneau leads the league in OPS+, VORP and wOBA while playing better defense, and because Teixeira is a Yankee.

AAB

June 13th, 2010 at 5:21 PM ^

Morneau is leading the voting because he has a really high batting average and a ton of RBI. Just wanted to point out that he's actually having a better season than Cabrera, which is pretty frightening.

david from wyoming

June 13th, 2010 at 5:37 PM ^

Using basic stats, Cabrera has 43 runs, 53 rbi's, 18 homeruns, BA of .32 and OBP of .409. Morneau is at 40 runs, 43 rbi's, 13 homeruns, BA of .357 and OBP of .467 (all stats not counting today's numbers).

I don't know if I would say Morneau is having a better season. Even though Morneau has a higher average, Cabrara is leading total bases 146 to 136.

david from wyoming

June 13th, 2010 at 6:04 PM ^

Um. Why? Cabrera gets a lot more extra base hits, which is huge when you are talking about scoring runs for a team. I'm not saying a slap happy singles hitter is worthless, but I think total bases is a better judge of value to a team than batting average.

Yes, I could name 42 stats I like more than total bases and BA, but comparing only those two, I would pick total bases.

Edit, I misread your comment. I read OBP as BA. My bad.

jsquigg

June 13th, 2010 at 6:56 PM ^

As far as Cabrera, if I was an opponent I'd walk him with any base open at this point.  To me, he is now the second best all around hitter in the majors behind Pujols. 

In more general things related to the Tigers, am I the only one sick of seeing Leyland throw a AAA lineup out there?  They were fortunate to get a sweep because when they have two wins in a series, Leyland gives key hitters the day off and has a weird batting order from day to day.  He has definitely taken the Tigers to another level from where they were in the previous 20 years, but sometimes they don't have that killer instinct.

Also, can someone tell me why Ryan Rayburn is in the big leagues?  He's been a terrible hitter as well as a terrible fielder.  I'm just a fan, so I'm sure someone will have a different reasoning.

jsquigg

June 13th, 2010 at 7:05 PM ^

I know why he played today, but I question why he's still with the big league team to begin with.  When you're hitting under .200 and you don't field the many positions you play well, someone else deserves a chance.  Veratility is overrated at times, but is the only way some players stick around.  I'd rather have a guy play a couple positions well than have a guy who I can stick anywhere but can't rely on.