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.