Joe Posnanski I believe it was wrote the other week/month about the romanticizing of Cabrera -- how, probably because of the triple crown or maybe because he stands out more post-steroid era, people are putting Cabrera on a pedestal and missing the fact that before Cabrera there was Pujols, and before Pujols there was Frank Thomas, both routinely hitting .320 with extreme power. He's right but of course that doesn't diminish Cabrera at all. I saw another article pointing out that he's one of five greatest RH hitters ever (and, fuck, I actually managed to find that one). Anyway. Let me see if I can find the singles hitter article, because the numbers are startling and encouraging to the Red Sox, Dodgers and Cardinals. This is not it but you get the gist. Slugging .333 from September. I agree that we'll find out more about his injuries after the season is over. EDIT: completely forgot to say, Leyland hasn't made the most of all of his opportunities, but he has won a title, he's turned around some programs, he's consistently in the playoffs -- and there aren't any all-time managers active right now since TLR and Cox retired.
Last time a righty won three batting titles in a row? Rogers Hornsby back in the 20s. Cabrera's numbers this year were better than last year all together. He finished first or second in every major offensive category. That's a year to remember. Big Hurt was amazing, but I don't think of him in the same company with Miggy or Pujols. Those two are generational hitters.
He never got the attention he deserved, in my opinion. Slightly different skillset than Cabrera or Pujols -- walked more than he struck out, better career on-base numbers than all but ~15 guys. Power, sure, but a bit more discipline, especially compared to Cabrera. Unfortunately only had one really good season after he turned 32 (and his might be a career to pay attention to when trying to figure out what Pujols and Cabrera are going to do with their 32-40 years). I'm in the camp that puts little to no stock in batting titles or batting average in general. Too much generational change, too many external factors. I would give Thomas the edge over Cabrera (and Pujols, when it comes to hitting) for quite a few years yet. It'll depend how well they finish out their careers.