1 TIGERS RULE THE CENTRAL DIVISION Catcher Alex Avila threw off his mask He looked up at the sky When the pop-up landed in his mitt his Detroit Tigers had beaten the Minnesota Twins on the last day of the 2014 regular season Tigers players ran onto the field The crowd went wild With the victory the Tigers won the American League AL Central Division title for the fourth consecutive season From 2011 to 2014 the Tigers had plenty of star power Miguel Cabrera led the league in batting average three times and blasted 143 home runs Pitcher Justin Verlander went 24 5 in 2011 Fireballer Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander delivers a pitch in the 2012 World Series 4
Max Scherzer was 21 3 in 2013 Designated hitter Victor Martinez batted 335 in 2014 The Tigers made it to the World Series in only one of those years 2012 In that year’s Fall Classic the San Francisco Giants defeated the Tigers in four straight games Still winning four straight division titles is special Victor Martinez follows through on a home run during a 2014 game 91 5 Average wins per season for the Tigers from 2011 to 2014 The Tigers won the AL Central Division every year from 2011 to 2014 They won the AL Division Series in 2011 2012 and 2013 They won the AL Championship Series ALCS in 2012 THINK ABOUT IT The Tigers were one of baseball’s best teams during the regular season from 2011 to 2014 However they didn’t win a World Series during that time Would you still consider those to be successful seasons Explain why or why not 5
2 MIGGY SUPPLIES THE POWER During batting practice Tigers superstar Miguel Cabrera likes to play a game called Around the World First he’ll hit a ball into the right field seats Then he’ll go deep to center field and then to left During games Cabrera loves to jokes around He smiles and laughs with teammates opponents and sometimes even fans It’s easy to be relaxed when you hit as well as Miggy If he stays healthy said Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander I don’t see any reason why he can’t be the best hitter of all time Since joining the Tigers in 2008 Cabrera has been the game’s greatest slugger He has batted 325 while averaging 36 home runs and 121 runs batted in RBIs With the Florida Marlins and then Detroit he had topped 100 RBIs for 11 straight seasons through 2014 The Major League Baseball MLB record is 13 THE KING IS CROWNED Late during the 2012 season Tigers fans began wearing hats with three crowns on them They represented the Triple Crown that Miguel Cabrera was about to win A hitter wins the Triple Crown if he leads the AL or National League NL in batting average home runs and RBIs In 2012 Miggy led the AL with a 330 average 44 homers and 139 RBIs He became the first Triple Crown winner in either league since 1967 6
2 AL Most Valuable Player MVP Awards for Miguel Cabrera in 2012 and 2013 Cabrera won the AL batting title every year from 2011 to 2013 He led the league in home runs in 2008 and 2012 Cabrera led the AL in RBIs in 2010 and 2012 Miguel Cabrera in 2015 7
