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Hall of Famer Frank Robinson told reporters in an interview at Nationals Park in October that he didn't follow Miguel Cabrera's big 2012 season too closely, but the 77-year-old veteran of 21 MLB seasons admitted that he started to pay attention to whether or not the Detroit Tigers' infielder would win the Triple Crown (AVG, HRs, RBIs) late in the year. Cabrera did it, becoming the first player to do so since the Boston Red Sox' Carl Yastrzemski and Robinson himself had won it in back-to-back seasons in 1966-67, respectively. "I didn't follow very much of it," Robinson explained, "I follow baseball and I saw some of it, and I didn't get excited about it, or even start to really notice until towards the end. I'm excited for him, I'm really happy for him, because I think people take the Triple Crown for granted really, and take it too lightly."
"I think it's the most outstanding thing an individual player as a hitter can do," Robinson said, "And it's not an easy thing. I don't know if anybody is going into Spring Training saying, 'I'm going to win the Triple Crown.' And you can't do that, and that's why you see the majority of time, there's so big a lapse in-between, the years go by before someone wins it. What bugs me is when people start hollering in April, a guy's leading the league in all three and they say, 'What do you think his chances are?' And I tell them, 'Slim and none. Slim left town and none passed away.' You don't start thinking about Triple Crown until early or late September."
So was Cabrera the AL MVP for 2012? "There's no doubt," the only player to win the MVP in both leagues said. "I know some guys had good years, [Mike] Trout especially, and people are pushing him awful hard for most valuable player, but I don't see how an individual can play on a winning ballclub and get his team into the [postseason] and win a Triple Crown and then not be an MVP of the league."
"Who disagrees with me?" Robinson asked with a smile.
Apparently the SB Nation's AL baseball writers did:
| Player | Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Trout | Los Angeles Angels | 22 | 4 |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 344 |
| Miguel Cabrera | Detroit Tigers | 4 | 18 | 3 | 1 |   |   |   |   |   |   | 249 |
| Robinson Cano | New York Yankees |   | 1 | 14 | 8 | 2 |   |   |   |   |   | 189 |
| Adrian Beltre | Texas Rangers |   | 3 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 2 |   |   |   |   | 177 |
| Justin Verlander | Detroit Tigers |   |   | 2 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 1 |   |   |   | 115 |
| Josh Hamilton | Texas Rangers |   |   |   | 2 | 6 |   | 1 | 4 | 2 |   | 70 |
| Ben Zobrist | Tampa Bay Rays |   |   |   |   | 1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 64 |
| Adam Jones | Baltimore Orioles |   |   | 1 |   |   | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 |   | 58 |
| David Price | Tampa Bay Rays |   |   |   | 1 |   |   | 7 | 1 | 3 |   | 44 |
| Prince Fielder | Detroit Tigers |   |   |   |   | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 44 |
| Edwin Encarnacion | Toronto Blue Jays |   |   |   |   |   | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 43 |
| Alex Gordon | Kansas City Royals |   |   |   |   | 1 | 2 |   | 2 | 3 | 1 | 29 |
| Felix Hernandez | Seattle Mariners |   |   |   |   |   | 2 | 3 |   |   | 3 | 25 |
| Joe Mauer | Minnesota Twins |   |   |   |   |   | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 24 |
| Austin Jackson | Detroit Tigers |   |   |   |   |   | 1 | 2 |   | 1 | 4 | 19 |
| Torii Hunter | Los Angeles Angels |   |   |   |   |   | 1 |   |   | 1 |   | 7 |
| Fernando Rodney | Tampa Bay Rays |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 2 |   |   | 6 |
| Josh Reddick | Oakland Athletics |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Albert Pujols | Los Angeles Angels |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 1 |   | 2 | 5 |
| Josh Willingham | Minnesota Twins |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 1 |   | 1 | 4 |
| Chris Sale | Chicago White Sox |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Alex Rios | Chicago White Sox |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 1 |   |   | 3 |
| Dustin Pedroia | Boston Red Sox |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 1 |   | 2 |
| Yoenis Cespedes | Oakland Athletics |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 1 |   | 2 |
| J.J. Hardy | Baltimore Orioles |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 1 | 1 |
Trout received 22 of 26 1st place votes from the SB Nation's American League writers. Trout and Cabrera were the only two players to receive 1st place votes. The AL Rookie of the Year finished his first full season with a .326/.399/.564 line, 27 doubles, eight triples, 30 HRs, 83 RBIs, 49 SBs and 166 wRC+ in 139 games and 639 PAs over which he was worth +10.0 fWAR. Cabrera finished his 2012 campaign with a .330/.393/.606 line, 40 doubles, 44 HRs, 139 RBIs and 166 wRC+ in 161 games and 697 PAs over which he was worth +7.1 fWAR. Not an easy choice, though 22 of 26 AL SB Nation writers made the same one... Which player will the BBWAA writers vote for? We'll find out tonight when the 2012 MVPs in each league are announced.
As for the SB Nation's NL Player of the Year?
| Player | Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buster Posey | San Francisco Giants | 26 | 6 | 3 |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 442 |
| Ryan Braun | Milwaukee Brewers | 7 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 2 |   |   |   |   |   | 330 |
| Andrew McCutchen | Pittsburgh Pirates | 2 | 7 | 14 | 8 | 3 |   |   |   |   |   | 277 |
| David Wright | New York Mets |   | 2 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 |   | 204 |
| Chase Headley | San Diego Padres |   |   | 2 | 13 | 6 | 7 |   | 3 | 1 | 1 | 190 |
| Yadier Molina | St. Louis Cardinals |   | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 |   | 189 |
| Jason Heyward | Atlanta Braves |   |   |   | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 4 |   | 5 | 90 |
| Aramis Ramirez | Milwaukee Brewers |   |   |   |   | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 48 |
| Michael Bourn | Atlanta Braves |   |   |   |   |   | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 47 |
| Matt Holliday | St. Louis Cardinals |   |   |   |   | 1 |   | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 28 |
| Joey Votto | Cincinnati Reds |   |   | 1 |   | 1 |   |   | 1 | 4 |   | 25 |
| Clayton Kershaw | Los Angeles Dodgers |   |   |   | 1 |   |   | 2 | 1 | 3 |   | 24 |
| Gio Gonzalez | Washington Nationals |   |   |   |   | 1 | 1 | 2 |   | 1 |   | 21 |
| Aaron Hill | Arizona Diamondbacks |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 3 | 4 | 4 | 21 |
| Ian Desmond | Washington Nationals |   |   |   |   |   |   | 2 | 3 |   | 2 | 19 |
| Jay Bruce | Cincinnati Reds |   |   | 1 |   |   |   | 1 |   | 1 |   | 14 |
| R.A. Dickey | New York Mets |   |   |   |   |   | 1 | 1 | 1 |   | 2 | 14 |
| Giancarlo Stanton | Miami Marlins |   |   |   |   |   |   | 1 | 1 |   | 4 | 11 |
| Carlos Ruiz | Philadelphia Phillies |   |   |   |   | 1 |   | 1 |   |   |   | 10 |
| Adam LaRoche | Washington Nationals |   |   |   |   | 1 |   |   |   |   | 1 | 7 |
| Matt Kemp | Los Angeles Dodgers |   |   |   |   |   | 1 |   |   |   | 1 | 6 |
| Johnny Cueto | Cincinnati Reds |   |   |   |   |   |   | 1 |   | 1 |   | 6 |
| Martin Prado | Atlanta Braves |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Carlos Gonzalez | Colorado Rockies |   |   |   |   |   | 1 |   |   |   |   | 5 |
| Chipper Jones | Atlanta Braves |   |   |   |   |   | 1 |   |   |   |   | 5 |
| Bryce Harper | Washington Nationals |   |   |   |   |   |   | 1 |   |   | 1 | 5 |
| Allen Craig | St. Louis Cardinals |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 1 | 1 |   | 5 |
| Melky Cabrera | San Francisco Giants |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 2 |   | 4 |
| Ryan Zimmerman | Washington Nationals |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Carlos Beltran | St. Louis Cardinals |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 1 |   |   | 3 |
| Craig Kimbrel | Atlanta Braves |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 1 |   | 2 |
| Alfonso Soriano | Chicago Cubs |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 2 | 2 |
| Paul Goldschmidt | Arizona Diamondbacks |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 1 | 1 |
Buster Posey ran away with it after finishing his fourth MLB season with a .336/.408/.549 line, 39 doubles, 24 HRs, 103 RBIs and 162 wRC+ in 148 games and 610 PAs over which he was worth +8.0 fWAR. The Brewers' Ryan Braun finished the year with a .319/.391/.595 line, 36 doubles, 41 HRs, 112 RBIs and 162 wRC+ in 154 games and 677 PAs, ending the year at +7.9 fWAR. The Pirates' Andrew McCutchen, who was the only other player to receive any 1st place votes, had a .327/.400/.553 line, 29 doubles, six triples, 31 HRs, 96 RBIs and 158 wRC+ in 157 games and 673 PAs after which he was worth +7.4 fWAR.
Who were your AL and NL MVPs? Who will win the BBWAA awards tonight?