Tigers’ Cabrera locks up 4th batting title in 5 years

CHICAGO _ Justin Verlander has Miguel Cabrera’s bat.tmpplchld He has his helmet from when he clinched the 2012 Triple Crown, and on Saturday night he received a signed pair of his batting gloves.tmpplchld “If you keep doing really special stuff,” Verlander told Cabrera, “I’m going to have your entire uniform up on my wall.”tmpplchld And the Detroit Tigers’ first baseman continues to do really special stuff.tmpplchld Sunday, Cabrera clinched his fourth American League batting title in the past five seasons, etching his name into elite company with the likes of Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs and former Tiger legends Ty Cobb and Harry Heilmann.tmpplchld Cabrera downplayed the batting title after the game, saying, “It’s the end of the season tomorrow, so we gotta wait,” but throughout the visiting clubhouse at U.S. Cellular Field, his manager and teammates didn’t.tmpplchld “I haven’t come across a hitter in my career like him,” manager Brad Ausmus said.tmpplchld “He’s a once-in-a-generation type player,” catcher Alex Avila said.tmpplchld “He’s doing things that are almost unheard of in the game,” Verlander said.tmpplchld And perhaps second baseman Ian Kinsler put it best.tmpplchld “There’s certain guys that could probably play in a league higher than this,” Kinsler said, “And he’s definitely one of those guys.”tmpplchld Cabrera went 3-for-4 in Saturday night’s loss to the White Sox _ his final start of the season _ and hit his 18th home run of the season to snap a career-long 29-game homerless drought. He finished with a .338 batting average.tmpplchld “He’s very gifted with the bat,” Ausmus said. “Miggy _ despite the fact his home runs were down this year _ combines power and average like no other player I’ve seen.”tmpplchld Cabrera becomes 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 from 1985-88. Gwynn won four consecutive with Padres from 1994-97.tmpplchld He joins Cobb and Heilmann as the only two Tigers in team history to win four batting titles _ Cobb won 12 and Heilmann won four.tmpplchld “That’s not very common,” Kinsler said. “It’s very special and it’s a lot of fun to watch day in and day out. ... He’s incredibly consistent. This game is not easy. People think everyone should hit like Miguel Cabrera but it’s very difficult and he’s in a class of his own.”tmpplchld Cabrera bested Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts by 18 points in the AL and Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper by eight points to lead all of baseball.tmpplchld He said after Sunday’s game that besides the left calf strain that kept him out for six weeks, he was hobbled by the surgically-repaired right ankle for most of the season.tmpplchld “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 able to play 100 percent every day.”tmpplchld He hit 18 home runs and 76 RBIs in 119 games this season.tmpplchld And if he is able to play at 100 percent next season after an offseason of rest, Verlander could have another piece of memorabilia hanging up on his wall in the near future.tmpplchld “They can take whatever they want in my locker,” Cabrera said. “They’re my teammates.”tmpplchld And when he doesn’t feel comfortable speaking about his success, they’re more than happy to speak for him.tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 Detroit Free Presstmpplchld Visit the Detroit Free Press at www.freep.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld