Is Cabrera now the best hitter of the MLB?

[dominik]

You could argue that miggy is now the best hitter of the majors replacing albert pujols.

career wise he is of course still a lot behind albert at the same age (149 OPS+ vs 170 OPS+ at age 28) but alberts last years looked like a slight start of decline while miggy only got better.

Over the last 2 years miggy had a 179 OPS, with a .337, .434, .604 line and 68 HRs while albert only had a 162 OPS+ with a .305, .391, .569 line with 79 HRs.

I think it is fair to say that cabrera is the best hitter of the majors now. bautista might also be slightly ahead of albert over that timeframe with a 173 OPS+ and a .280, .412, .613 line and a whopping 97 HRs although I would not consider him being in the mix for the best hitter since those years were his only good years and the career should be factored too.

[GiambiJuice]

duplicate...

[GiambiJuice]

It's either Cabrera or Joey Votto. I'd probably lean toward Cabrera.

[Captain Cold Nose]

It's either Cabrera or Joey Votto. I'd probably lean toward Cabrera.

Agreed. Votto is doing great, but Cabrera has been doing that great longer. What Albert Pujols does in a new league in 2012 will go a long way toward keeping him at the beginning of the conversation or just remembering when he was the best hitter for several years.

[dominik]

votto is definitely up there although I would not consider him quite as good as cabrera.

[Bigfoot 88]

Yes. His walk rate is continuing to climb which is one of the main factors to his improvement(not that he was never great)

[chicagowhitesox1173]

Yeah I would say Cabrera too right now is the best but I think he's gonna crash hard when he starts losing his skills. Same with Votto, I think both will have Canseco or Strawberry type end of careers.

[dominik]

Yeah I would say Cabrera too right now is the best but I think he's gonna crash hard when he starts losing his skills. Same with Votto, I think both will have Canseco or Strawberry type end of careers.

what are your predictions based on? I know miggy is a little on the heavy side but he has rarely missed any playing time and votto also has been quite healthy so far.

of course injuries can come quickly but right now I don't see any indication for this. why do you think that?

[rsuriyop]

Is Cabrera now the best hitter of the MLB?

I'd say Jose Bautista.

[GiambiJuice]

I'd say Jose Bautista.

They were about even in 2011, but Cabrera was the better overall hitter in 2010 (despite the 54 home runs). Add the fact that Cabrera's been great for much longer AND he's 2 and a half years younger than Bautista, and the choice is pretty easy.

[chicagowhitesox1173]

what are your predictions based on? I know miggy is a little on the heavy side but he has rarely missed any playing time and votto also has been quite healthy so far.

of course injuries can come quickly but right now I don't see any indication for this. why do you think that?

I dont really know of course but Cabrera has a career war of 40 right now and I can see him putting up 3 or 4 more seasons with 7-8 war but thats it. Once Cabrera hits his mid 30's I dont think he's tough enough mentally to work harder to stay in shape. Maybe i'm wrong and he is a skilled player and if he does keep his body in shape he deff can be a alltime great. But once he starts losing any kinda quickness I seriously doubt he will adjust and thats because he seems to have a big ego. I doubt he can take advice or ever will be able too. It's not like he's in great shape now. Thats pretty much why I think he's gonna crash hard. I can see Cabrera having a Frank Thomas type of end of career too though.

Votto has somehat become a bigname at a late age and usually in the history of baseball not too many keep it going when they start out that late. I give hime about the same 3 or 4 years of good years and then a decline. He'll never be near a hofer. Cabrera has a chance.

[Tyrus4189Cobb]

I'm waiting for this year to play out before I can say anything. I wanna see what Pujols does in the AL and if Cabrera can keep up his recent peak

[fenrir]

Yes Cabrera is currently the best hitter in baseball. With that said, I'm hoping Pujols takes back that title this year.

[DClutch]

Cabrera isn't strong enough mentally to stay in shape as he gets older? a Big Ego? Can't take advice? Do you know anything about him?

He's the complete opposite of everything you just said. I just read a piece on how he takes advice from everybody, whether it's a star or a utility infielder.

In 2003, Pudge told him to hit with his pinkie off the knob of the bat. 9 years later, Cabrera still does it. He takes advice from Ramon Santiago on playing third base. He's taken advice from anybody who offered it.

Tell me about his ego. He is a bonafide superstar in his prime who had absolutely no problem with putting himself out there at a different position, risking his value and worked to lose a ton of weight, to make his team better? He has an ego? Look at how Hanley Ramirez handled the same situation. THAT is an ego. The Tigers called Cabrera if he would move for Prince, he said "sounds good to me" and instantly got into shape. And this guy has a big ego? I mean going to third base, he could have been terrible, been forced to DH and be miserable, potentially be traded? And this guy is a superstar. And he didn't care about any of that, he said lets go.

This guy has moved from SS, to 3B, to LF, to RF, to 3B, to 1B, back to 3B in his baseball career and has never complained. He showed up, was in the lineup everyday and played hard.

Anybody who has ever been around him just can't say enough about how great of a person he is. A big ego? He's the guy who is out there clowning with opponents during the game, when people square up to bunt and pulls back, he yells that they are scared and laughs. He jokes all the time. Goofing off in the clubhouse, he's just a big kid who loves baseball. You could have watched a Tigers game the past 4 years and see how him and the opponent on 1st base is just cracking up with him. People say nothing but greats things about him. I've never heard 1 negative thing about his personality or heard 1 person who didn't like him. He's a big kid in a grown mans body. The LAST thing he has a big head and thinks he's better than anybody.

You don't lose mental toughness as you get older, you only gain it. And this offseason he just dropped a ton of weight and said it will help him down the road in his career. And you say he won't be able to stay in shape or have the discipline? Everything he has done this offseason proves that it's completely wrong.

I just can't wrap my head around this. The only thing I hear is how much of a joy of a person he is, I read stories about all the joking around and all the fun he has on the field with players and coaches. I read how he has taken from advice from everybody, no matter who it was, and applied it to his game to make himself better. And how he has given advice to others. And this is all from players/coaches. Basically the exact OPPOSITE of everything you just said.

Even the comments about him having a chance at the Hall. I think you're not giving him enough credit. He's well on his way to 600 homers, which looks pretty good next to his career .320 average. He's been as consistent as Pujols over the first 9 years of his career.

And I don't know if he will have steep decline because of his weight. He's gotten bigger every year, and so have his numbers. And right now he's in pretty good shape, as good as he's been in 5 years. He's fine.

You opinion on Cabrera is just completely untrue. He's the exact opposite, a guy who has time and time again, done whatever is best for his team and put that over his own personal motivations. He is the hitter he is today partly because he is so OPEN to taking advice and has done so from so many people throughout his career. He as unselfish and humble as any player in baseball, far from a big ego. And he works hard. Who else is taking groundballs at 8am every morning this Spring? All that hard work and he's made 1 error at Third Base at a position he supposedly had no chance of being able to handle. Sounds like a selfish, egotistical, player. Right.

He's been mentoring and working all spring with Tigers top prospect Nick Castellanos all spring, a third basemen. You know what Castellanos said about him? "I forget how much of a stud he is, until he steps into the batters box."

That says it all

[GiambiJuice]

Cabrera isn't strong enough mentally to stay in shape as he gets older? a Big Ego? Can't take advice? Do you know anything about him?

He's the complete opposite of everything you just said. I just read a piece on how he takes advice from everybody, whether it's a star or a utility infielder.

In 2003, Pudge told him to hit with his pinkie off the knob of the bat. 9 years later, Cabrera still does it. He takes advice from Ramon Santiago on playing third base. He's taken advice from anybody who offered it.

Tell me about his ego. He is a bonafide superstar in his prime who had absolutely no problem with putting himself out there at a different position, risking his value and worked to lose a ton of weight, to make his team better? He has an ego? Look at how Hanley Ramirez handled the same situation. THAT is an ego. The Tigers called Cabrera if he would move for Prince, he said "sounds good to me" and instantly got into shape. And this guy has a big ego? I mean going to third base, he could have been terrible, been forced to DH and be miserable, potentially be traded? And this guy is a superstar. And he didn't care about any of that, he said lets go.

This guy has moved from SS, to 3B, to LF, to RF, to 3B, to 1B, back to 3B in his baseball career and has never complained. He showed up, was in the lineup everyday and played hard.

Anybody who has ever been around him just can't say enough about how great of a person he is. A big ego? He's the guy who is out there clowning with opponents during the game, when people square up to bunt and pulls back, he yells that they are scared and laughs. He jokes all the time. Goofing off in the clubhouse, he's just a big kid who loves baseball. You could have watched a Tigers game the past 4 years and see how him and the opponent on 1st base is just cracking up with him. People say nothing but greats things about him. I've never heard 1 negative thing about his personality or heard 1 person who didn't like him. He's a big kid in a grown mans body. The LAST thing he has a big head and thinks he's better than anybody.

You don't lose mental toughness as you get older, you only gain it. And this offseason he just dropped a ton of weight and said it will help him down the road in his career. And you say he won't be able to stay in shape or have the discipline? Everything he has done this offseason proves that it's completely wrong.

I just can't wrap my head around this. The only thing I hear is how much of a joy of a person he is, I read stories about all the joking around and all the fun he has on the field with players and coaches. I read how he has taken from advice from everybody, no matter who it was, and applied it to his game to make himself better. And how he has given advice to others. And this is all from players/coaches. Basically the exact OPPOSITE of everything you just said.

Even the comments about him having a chance at the Hall. I think you're not giving him enough credit. He's well on his way to 600 homers, which looks pretty good next to his career .320 average. He's been as consistent as Pujols over the first 9 years of his career.

And I don't know if he will have steep decline because of his weight. He's gotten bigger every year, and so have his numbers. And right now he's in pretty good shape, as good as he's been in 5 years. He's fine.

You opinion on Cabrera is just completely untrue. He's the exact opposite, a guy who has time and time again, done whatever is best for his team and put that over his own personal motivations. He is the hitter he is today partly because he is so OPEN to taking advice and has done so from so many people throughout his career. He as unselfish and humble as any player in baseball, far from a big ego. And he works hard. Who else is taking groundballs at 8am every morning this Spring? All that hard work and he's made 1 error at Third Base at a position he supposedly had no chance of being able to handle. Sounds like a selfish, egotistical, player. Right.

He's been mentoring and working all spring with Tigers top prospect Nick Castellanos all spring, a third basemen. You know what Castellanos said about him? "I forget how much of a stud he is, until he steps into the batters box."

That says it all

How about the time he went out and got blind drunk with opposing White Sox players the night before a big game in October and then "allegedly" got into a physical altercation with his wife and had to be picked up up at the police station by Dave Dombrowski in the wee hours of the morning and went 0-4 the next day, leaving 6 runners on base as the Tigers missed the postseason by one game? Not selfish?