Major League Baseball

Verlander: 'Bull' if Miggy's not MVP

Published Sep. 20, 2012 1:00 a.m. ET

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Miguel Cabrera is on the verge of doing something that hasn't been done in baseball for a long time, and even that might not win him the MVP. The reigning winner of that award has a couple of problems with that.

Justin Verlander, who won the Cy Young and MVP last season, has put his support firmly behind his teammate in this year's race for the award.

However, there are plenty of voters and pundits who say that Angels rookie Mike Trout should win the award this season, even if Cabrera wins the Triple Crown. The Tigers third baseman, who leads the league in batting average and RBIs and is a home run behind Josh Hamilton for the lead in that, would be the first player to accomplish the feat since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.

Verlander's thoughts on that school of thought? Not a fan.

"Bull [expletive]," he said, according to The Detroit News, following Wednesday's game, a game in which Cabrera homered again. "That's ridiculous. When was the last time there was a Triple Crown winner, '67? OK.

"That would be a joke in my opinion. Come on. Even the fact that he's one home run away is completely absurd. Just watch him. And watch him when we need him, down this home stretch. Oh my god. You want to talk about the MVP."

In addition to contending for the Triple Crown, Cabrera has been white-hot in the month of September. He's hitting .371 in 17 games with eight home runs and 21 RBIs to go along with 1.261 OPS.

Many are still in love with Trout, who has been fantastic in his rookie campaign, despite missing the first month of the season before being called up. Sabermetricians will also point to Trout stats like his WAR (wins over replacement), which is 9.4. Cabrera checks in at 6.8, a figure that is none too shabby.

For what it's worth, Trout is hitting .273 with two home runs and three RBIs in September.

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