Miguel Cabrera's MVP chase just getting started

The baseball world seems intent on crowning the league MVPs before we hit the middle of August. To which I say: Uh, not so fast my friends.
Angels outfielder Mike Trout is having one of the remarkable debut seasons in baseball history and is the favorite to win the AL award. Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen is the heavy favorite to win the NL award.
Fine. Hard to argue with either one, right now. But trust me, Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera should pose a very strong argument before it’s over. He has never won the MVP, although he’s finished in the top five the past three seasons. He keeps bumping into players performing historic deeds, like teammate Justin Verlander’s 2011 MVP.
No, Cabrera shouldn’t win it based on long-term excellence. But he shouldn’t be considered as far behind Trout as some perceive.
There’s a reason Jim Leyland hauled out the “Wonderboy” moniker talking about Trout on 97.1 The Ticket the other morning. Of course Leyland is going to pick his own guy for MVP, and he has solid evidence to back it up. While praising Trout, Leyland attempted to point out a story can overshadow the numbers. The numbers for Trout, 21, are incredible, and his arrival early in the season resuscitated the Angels.
But just as Cabrera doesn’t get extra credit for dominating in nine major-league seasons, Trout shouldn’t get extra credit for producing so much as a rookie. I look at the key numbers and I don’t see a Trout blowout.
Trout: .345 batting average (first in AL), 1.010 OPS, 21 HRs, 65 RBIs, 36 stolen bases
Cabrera: .323 (second in AL), .965 OPS, 29 HRs, 96 RBIs (first in majors)
Trout has more runs (88-75) but has struck out a lot more (86-62) in nearly 100 fewer at-bats. Trout is a superb defensive outfielder, while Cabrera has been very good making the transition back to third base. Again, there’s no extra credit for being better than expected in a position switch.
If Trout wins the batting title — and let’s see how the kid holds up down the stretch — but Cabrera wins the RBI title, and perhaps the home run crown, the MVP race should be tight. If Cabrera somehow captures the Triple Crown, it’s no contest — he wins the MVP easily.
No one is denigrating the “Wonderboy,” and there’s no reason to do so. But sometimes I wonder why more aren’t touting Cabrera, who does everything he can to push attention away, even as his slugging attracts it. Generally, if you ask Cabrera about himself, he dismisses the question with a smile.
I asked him recently how badly he wanted to be MVP, and he was typically understated.
“It means a lot to me, but I don’t like to talk about it,” Cabrera said. “I have no control over it. I’d rather win games.”
Would he like to be acknowledged as the best, though?
“If I don’t win it, do I get less credit?” he said, smiling again.
He deserves loads of credit for being one of baseball’s best hitters for nearly a decade. The MVP is about the only thing he hasn’t won yet, and I certainly wouldn’t count him out.
Bob.wojnowski@detnews.com