Cabrera leads AL first basemen in All-Star balloting
Miguel Cabrera and the Tigers have a chance to return to the All-Star Game starting lineup for the first time since 2014. The four-time batting champion and Triple Crown winner currently leads American League first basemen in votes as Major League Baseball released its first update of fan balloting Wednesday.
Much like the Tigers in the AL Central race, Cabrera is hanging in there after injuries slowed his start. But in a first-base field without many fast starts, Cabrera is enjoying the benefits of being the established veteran and recognizable personality as he seeks his 12th All-Star selection and fourth start (he won the starting nod in 2015 but couldn’t take part due to injury).
Cabrera, who has had close races in voting with Kansas City’s Eric Hosmer the last couple years, currently holds about a 39,000-vote lead over Oakland’s Yonder Alonso, with Cleveland’s Carlos Santana close behind. Hosmer is further back in fourth.
Cabrera is the only Tiger in the top five at his position. That’s not a surprise, given the injuries and inconsistencies the Tigers have struggled through in recent weeks. Cabrera himself has had some of that. He entered Wednesday’s game against the Royals batting .261 (37-for-139) with five homers and 22 RBIs. He missed 10 days on the disabled list with a right groin strain, and another few days a couple weeks ago with a Grade 1 strain of his left oblique.
But as balloting history shows, past performance means something. And at a position where no established names have really gotten off to hot starts, Cabrera is enjoying the strength of the track record he spent years building. Even so, Tigers fans are going to have to hit the ballots hard to keep him among the leaders.
Cabrera was the only Tiger at last year’s Midsummer Classic, selected as a reserve for the AL squad in San Diego. Detroit had at least three All-Stars every season for the seven years before that. The Tigers have had at least one position player at every All-Star Game since 2001; closer Todd Jones was Detroit’s lone selection in 2000.
