Miguel Cabrera became the 15th player to win baseball's Triple Crown on Wednesday night, the reluctant superstar thrust into the spotlight after joining an elite list that includes Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig.
The Detroit Tigers' slugger topped the American League with a .330 batting average, 44 home runs and 139 RBIs, becoming the first Triple Crown winner in the majors since Boston's Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.
"It has been a great season, I want to thank God, my fans, family and tigers teammates, can't wait for the post-season," Cabrera posted on his Twitter account.
Cabrera's achievement wasn't assured until the Yankees pinch-hit for Curtis Granderson in their 14-2 rout of the Boston Red Sox. Granderson had homered twice to reach 43 for the year, tied with the Rangers' Josh Hamilton and one shy of Cabrera.
Cabrera went 0 for 2 against the Royals before leaving in the fourth inning to a standing ovation. He finished the regular season hitting four points higher than Angels rookie Mike Trout, his toughest competition for AL MVP. Cabrera was the runaway leader with 139 RBIs.
"I am glad that he accomplished this while leading his team to the American League Central title," Yastrzemski said in a statement.
Cabrera flied out in the first inning. He struck out in the fourth but remained in the game, allowing Leyland to remove him with two outs to another standing ovation from thousands of appreciate fans.
Cabrera high-fived his teammates as he entered the Detroit dugout.
"He's not a talkative guy," Tigers catcher Alex Avila said. "One, he doesn't speak English that well, but two, he lets his ability carry through."
