For the first time since Carl Yastrzemski accomplished the feat for the Boston Red Sox in 1967, baseball has a Triple Crown winner. The Detroit Tigers' Miguel Cabrera finished the 2012 season leading the American League with a .330 batting average, 44 home runs and 139 RBI.
He was pulled in the bottom of the fourth inning of the Tigers' game against the Kansas City Royals after going 0-for-2 Wednesday night, setting his season line in stone.
The only possible threats to Cabrera entering the evening were Mike Trout and Curtis Granderson, who had outside shots at challenging him for batting average and home runs, respectively. Trout finished the night 2-for-3, giving him a batting average of .326.
Granderson put on an impressive show in the New York Yankees' season finale against the Boston Red Sox, clobbering a pair of home runs to give him a total of 43 for the season. But he was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning, leaving him one short of Cabrera.
Trout remains Cabrera's stiffest competition for the American League MVP Award.