DETROIT — Being a prisoner of the moment is running wild in Baseball America.
If it's happening today, it's better than things that happened in the past.
We get it. The modern sports fan wants to believe that what they are currently watching, is better than what’s happened in the past because there isn't videotape to prove it.
Enter Miguel Cabrera.
It's not enough to call Cabrera, the Detroit Tigers' starting third baseman, the best hitter in baseball today.
Oh, no.
The buzz on social media and sports-talk radio – after Cabrera hit a walk-off home run Saturday night against the Kansas City Royals and another homer on the first pitch he saw Sunday – was that he was the best right-handed hitter in baseball history.
Wait.
Slow down.
Hold the phone.
Younguns, meet Hank Aaron. He's still the greatest right-handed hitter.
Aaron's numbers are sick across the board. So sick, in fact, you could take away his 755 homeruns and Aaron still has over 3,000 hits.
This ain't old man stuff, your parents talking about walking to school as a kid and how much better life used to be.
Oh, no.
It's about the numbers. After all, it's what baseball is all about.
No wonder Cabrera wouldn't even entertain the question about him being the greatest. In fact, Cabrera said I was "loco" when I asked him the question on Sunday in Detroit.
As great as Cabrera has been the last two years – winning the Triple Crown last season and in the hunt for another one this season – he's just not there yet.
It's not to say that he's not in the conversation, because he absolutely is.
But when you line Cabrera up with the other greats of the game and compare stats, it's hard to put him at the top of the list.
After all, these right-handed hitters were pretty awesome in their prime as well: Aaron, Willie Mays, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez.
Tigers' manager Jim Leyland said it's the too hard to compare.
"The only thing I would say because I would never disrespect people like Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, I do think it's harder to hit today because of specialization in the bullpen," he said. "But I would never get in one of those comparison things.
"You make yourself look like a fool when you start talking about that."
No doubt, especially when you look at Aaron's numbers. After all, Aaron had a lifetime .305 batting average in 23 seasons and nearly averaged 100 RBI a season.
Aaron, who played for Atlanta and Milwaukee, holds the record for most RBIs (2297), most extra base hits (1,477) and most total bases (6,856).
Aaron, who was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1982 after getting 406 of the 415 votes, also holds the record for the most seasons as an All-Star (21).
Ok, younguns, if you're tired of history from a typewriter and want something off a laptop, here you go.
You don't even need to go that far back to find a player that not only rival's Cabrera, but beats him in the numbers game. It's Pujols.
The last two disappointing years with LA Angels have made many fans forget how incredible Pujols' career has been.
Numbers don't lie.
In the same amount of games for both, the first 1,628 of their careers, Pujols wins all four important categories – batting average (.329), HRs (424), RBI (1,273) and OPS (1,041).
Cabrera's batting average is .321, with 361 HRs, 1,243 RBI and a .969 OPS.
So, as much damage as Cabrera is doing the last two seasons, it isn't something we haven't seen ever in baseball.
Yes, his Triple Crown in 2012 was the first in baseball since 1967. Cabrera breaking a 45-year drought got people more aware of his talent nationally.
For sure, opponents can't deny what Cabrera, who entered Thursday batting .3?? with 40 HRs and 120 RBI, has done this season.
The most impressive thing Cabrera has done was hit two homers off Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer of all-time, in two at-bats in the ninth inning recently in New York. The first, a two-run shot with two outs, to tie the game. The second, a solo shot, started a two-run rally to tie that game as well.
Still, this greatest-ever debate won't truly be settled until all these great players stats are final and people can really compare.
"If you don't have him in the conversation, something's wrong with you or you didn't play baseball," Torii Hunter said. "You can look at his stats right now.
"If he keeps this up for the next couple of years, he's going to be the best right-handed hitter ever."
Until further notice, however, Aaron is still the best.
