NEW YORK — Miguel Cabrera has a Most Valuable Player award to go with his Triple Crown. And Buster Posey has an MVP prize to put alongside his second World Series ring.
The pair of batting champions won baseball’s top individual honors Thursday by large margins.
Cabrera, the first Triple Crown winner in 45 years, won the AL MVP by receiving 22 of 28 first-place votes and 362 points from a Baseball Writers’ Association of America panel.
The Detroit third baseman easily beat Los Angeles Angels rookie center fielder Mike Trout, who had six firsts and 281 points.
Cabrera hit .330 with 44 homers and 139 RBIs to become the first Triple Crown winner since Boston’s Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. Cabrera also led the league with a .606 slugging percentage for the AL champion Tigers.
The first catcher in four decades to win the NL award, San Francisco’s Posey got 27 of 32 firsts and 422 points to outdistance 2011 winner Ryan Braun of Milwaukee. Posey set career highs with a .336 average, 24 homers and 103 RBIs for the World Series champions.
— The Associated Press
