Tigers' Cabrera to win 4th batting title in 5 years

CHICAGO -- Brad Ausmus could tell from the swing.

When the Detroit Tigers’ manager first saw Miguel Cabrera play during his younger years with the Florida Marlins, he could tell that his picture-perfect right-handed swing — packed with prolific power — was going to produce some serious statistics.

“I’ve always known he was a good hitter,” Ausmus said. “I don’t know that I would have predicted he would have been a Triple Crown winner, but you knew he had the power and the swing to do both.”

Now, in his 13th season, Cabrera is on the verge of entering more elite company as he wraps up his fourth American League batting title in five years.

The Tigers’ first baseman went 3-for-4 with a home run against the White Sox on Saturday night in his last start of the season, pushing his major league-leading batting average to .338.

“I don’t know yet,” he said about nearly clinching the crown. “It’s the end of the season tomorrow, so we gotta wait.”

He leads Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts by 18 points in the AL.

Cabrera will become the first AL player to win the batting title four times in a five-year stretch since Wade Boggs won four straight with the Red Sox in 1985-88. Padres legend Tony Gwynn was the latest to rule his league like Cabrera has, winning four consecutive batting titles in 1994-97.

“I haven’t come across a hitter in my career like him,” Ausmus said after the game.

Cabrera’s home run – his 18th of the year – went out to right-centerfield and snapped a career-long drought of 29 games, certainly caused by some of the nagging injuries he has dealt with this season.

At the conclusion of the regular season, he will join Ty Cobb and Harry Heilmann as Tigers with four batting titles – Cobb won 12 and Heilmann won four.

When asked earlier in the week about Cabrera winning the batting title, Ausmus said: “He hasn’t said it, but I’m sure he’d like to. We’d like him to win it.”

Ausmus has done his part to protect Cabrera from Bogaerts, limiting his starts this week.

Cabrera also led the AL in batting in 2011 (.344), 2012 (.330) and 2013 (.348).

“I’ve always known he was a good hitter,” Ausmus said. “I’m more impressed with the fact that he wants to play and he’ll play hurt and he plays the game like a kid.”

Cabrera missed more than a month with a left calf strain and has been banged up down the stretch, which certainly had contributed to his career-long streak of 29 games without a home run.

“It’s been a battle for my ankle all year, playing through pain,” Cabrera said. “Hopefully next season there will be no issues and I’ll be pain free and I’ll be able to play 100% every day.”

He has 18 home runs and 76 RBIs in 119 games this season, which are career-lows since his rookie year, due largely to the time on the disabled list from July 3-Aug. 18.

Over the span of his career, he is the active leader in batting average at .321. He is a two-time AL MVP and 10-time All-Star.

“He enjoys it,” Ausmus said. “He has fun with it. I don’t have to be a manager to know that he’s a good hitter.”

Contact Anthony Fenech: afenech@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @anthonyfenech.

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