For a while it looked like Miguel Cabrera’s biggest hurdle in claiming the triple crown would be topping Josh Hamilton in homers, but Joe Mauer has been on fire this month to close the gap in the batting average race.
Mauer had his MLB-leading 22nd three-hit game of the season last night and is now hitting .418 this month, bringing his overall batting average up to .326 compared to .329 for Cabrera.
Here are the MLB leaders in three-hit games:
Joe Mauer 22
Miguel Cabrera 21
Ryan Braun 18
Derek Jeter 18
Torii Hunter 18
Adrian Beltre 18
Andrew McCutchen 17
Michael Bourn 17
Everyone on that list is batting above .300 except for Bourn, who’s hitting just .274 but has come to the plate an MLB-high 690 times as the Braves’ leadoff man and did most of his damage in the first half.
As for Mauer, he’s already won batting average titles in 2006, 2008, and 2009 and his .324 career mark is second to only Albert Pujols at .325 among all active players. Mauer got off to a slow start following his injury wrecked 2011 season, but since carrying a .265 batting average on May 17 he’s hit .347 in 103 games.
