Manager sees similarities between Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols
detnews.com
Detroit -- There's little dispute around the league that Cardinals first-baseman Albert Pujols is the best player in baseball right now. He's batting .356 with nine home runs and 29 RBIs in 24 games.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland got to know Pujols real well as a Pittsburgh-based scout for St. Louis from 2000-04 and has no quandary proclaiming Pujols the best.
"He is the best player in the game right now. That's just the way it is," Leyland said. "I think the thing I remember the most about him and watching over the years is that I've never seen Albert Pujols give a bat away. I don't care what the score of the game is, behind 10 up 10, I've never seen him give an at-bat away. That's saying something. He takes every bat, to me, like if he gets a hit it's going to win the World Series."
Just as Leyland watched Pujols become a star in St. Louis, he's getting the same chance to watch Miguel Cabrera become one of the game's elite players in Detroit.
"There are a lot of similarities between the two," Leyland said of Pujols and Cabrera, who was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run in Saturday's 9-7 victory over the Indians on Saturday.
Both sluggers started their careers at third base and both have since moved to first base.
Cabrera's .376 batting average is fourth in MLB. He has five homers, 17 RBIs and a .593 slugging percentage in 23 games. Like Pujols, he has become one of the most feared hitters in the game.
"He is one of the best hitters in the league and he has proved that over the years," Cabrera said of Pujols. "I see how he approaches the plate and what he does at first base and I watch what he does."
Leyland and Cabrera, 26, have talked about Pujols, 29, on several occasions.
"We talk about how he's approaching home plate, how he takes pitches and sees a lot of pitches and what it takes to do what he does," Cabrera said. |
