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ledges ay to ming me in ning. when Lyndon Johnson was president, free agency was a pipe dream and the Boston left fielder known as Yaz chain-smoked cigarettes in the dugout. As he swung his way to history, Cabrera has been a reluctant star. He shied away from discussing the feat. In the clubhouse here, his locker was positioned out of view of the television. Before the game, while his teammates lounged on black leather couches clinging to every at-bat by Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, who entered the day trailing Cabrera by one home run, Cabrera kept his distance. Hamilton was the only truly serious threat to Cabrera on Wednesday. But with the Rangers playing a day game, Cabrera had the luxury of knowing, by the opening pitch here, that he would probably not be caught. Hamilton failed to homer in five at-bats, finishing with 43. The Yankees’ Curtis Granderson mounted a final-day charge at the home run title, slamming two home runs, but he also finished with 43. Going into the final game, the rookie Angels phenom Mike Trout had a mathematical shot of taking the batting title. But Jim Leyland, the Tigers’ manager, had said he would pull Cabrera to protect his average and keep him out of Trout’s even theoretical reach. (Trout finished at .326.) “This is a huge story and I want everybody to enjoy it,” said Leyland, his feet kicked up on his desk as he addressed reporters before the game. “They should enjoy it.” Leyland could also enjoy it since his team had clinched the AL Central title. He pulled Cabrera in the middle innings after he went 0 for 2. After the game, Leyland said a member of his staff was monitoring a computer to see what other hitters were doing and whether they were closing in on Cabrera. “This is the toughest game I’ve ever had to manage in my career,” Leyland said. “It was more nerve wracking than the seventh game of the World Series in 1997.” Leyland managed the Marlins to their first title that year. Cabrera’s triple crown achievement became official in the middle of the sixth, and a message was put on the big screen saying, “Congratulations from the Royals and our fans.” The players paused as Cabrera received a standing ovation. The most difficult category for Cabrera to win should have been home runs, given the distant outfield fences at his home ballpark, Comerica Park. But the Tigers acquired Prince Fielder, a power-hitting first baseman, over the winter, providing crucial hitting support to the already dominant Cabrera, who won the batting title last season with a .344 average. With Fielder batting fourth, right behind Cabrera, it meant that Cabrera would get more pitches to hit. And, as it turned out, hit far. Cabrera’s customary brilliance and Fielder’s added bat did not equate to team success early on. The Tigers were mediocre through the first half of the season, barely eclipsing .500 by the midway point. But they started rattling off victories in July, and in that same month, Cabrera got his batting average over .320 and kept it there for good. In August, the winning continued as Cabrera began his quick and steep climb toward the home run title. Yastrzemski, long retired to a life of fishing, golfing and some duty tutoring young hitters for the Red Sox, has been sought out in recent weeks. He has been his usual taciturn, modest self. “In ’67, the triple crown was never even mentioned once,” Yastrzemski told the Boston Herald last week. “We were so involved in the pennant race, I didn’t know I won the triple crown until the next day, when I read it in the paper.”
“This is the toughest game I’ve ever had to manage in my career”
JIM LEYLAND
TIGERS MANAGER