Miguel Cabrera Named American League Player Of The Week
Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending April 12th. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.
Cabrera batted .520 (13-for-25) with two doubles, two home runs, eight RBI and four runs scored over six games to claim his ninth career AL Player of the Week and his 13th weekly honor overall (last accomplished on September 7, 2014). Among his AL counterparts, the right-handed slugger was first in total bases (21), hits (13) and on-base percentage (.586), tied for first in RBI and
second in batting average and slugging percentage (.840).
On Wednesday, the 31-year-old went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI in a convincing 11-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park. The two-RBI performance was Miguel's first of the 2015 season. On Friday, the Venezuelan native was one of seven Tigers to record at least two hits, delivering three singles, an RBI and a stolen base to help spoil the Cleveland Indians' home opener in an 8-4 win over the Tribe at Progressive Field. Heading into the weekend, the nine-time All-Star continued his hot start, recording his first four-hit game of the season in a 9-6 win for the Tigers over the AL Central-rival Indians. His clutch, two-out RBI single in the seventh inning gave Detroit a 4-3 lead that they would not relinquish. The 2012 AL Triple Crown winner saved his best performance for Sunday, when he launched his first two home runs of the season as part of another four-hit afternoon, plating four Tigers to help complete the sweep for Detroit. It was the first time in Miguel's storied career in which he logged four hits in consecutive games. The two-homer afternoon also marked Cabrera's 31st career multi-homer game and his 22nd with Detroit.
The two-time AL MVP (2012-13) finished the three-game tilt in Cleveland batting 11-for-14 (.786) with two homers and six RBI. For his career, the 13-year-veteran has owned Cleveland pitching with a slash line of .357/.427/.632, 37 homers and 118 RBI in 133 career games. The Tigers are now 6-0 for the fourth time in franchise history and the first time since 1985, outscoring their opponents 47-16 during their historic start.
Other noteworthy performances last week included Salvador Perez (.417, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 4 R) and Greg Holland (3 G, 3 SV, 3 SO, 0, H, 0 BB) of the Kansas City Royals; Cabrera's Detroit teammates Jose Iglesias (.526, 10 H, 2 SB), Ian Kinsler (.440, 11 H, 7 RBI, 10 R) and David Price (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 14.1 IP, 11 SO, 3 BB); Adam Jones (.381, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 6 R) of the Baltimore Orioles; and Hanley Ramirez (.320, 8 H, 3 HR, 7 RBI) of the Boston Red Sox.
In recognition of his American League Player of the Week Award, Miguel Cabrera will be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, available at MLB.com.
