By Larry Fine
NEW YORK | Thu Nov 15, 2012 7:28pm EST
(Reuters) - Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers, the first player to win the Triple Crown in 45 years, added the American League's Most Valuable Player award on Thursday for the 2012 Major League Baseball season.
Cabrera became the first player since Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox in 1967 to lead the league in the three top traditional offensive categories with a .330 batting average, 44 home runs, and 139 runs batted in.
He also became the first Venezuelan to win the coveted MVP award, getting the nod over Rookie of the Year winner Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, whose brilliant all-around play had made him a serious challenger to Cabrera.
"I'm very excited. I don't have any words to explain how excited I feel," Cabrera told MLB TV.
"I never expected I'm going to win because Mike Trout he got an unbelievable season.
"I think winning the division, winning games, helped me to win the Triple Crown because baseball is about winning more than personal numbers. I think this MVP is about all my team."
Cabrera followed his teammate, ace pitcher Justin Verlander, as American League MVP winners.
Combining the brute power of a slugger and the finesse of a leadoff hitter, Cabrera registered his historic season despite making a shift in position, moving from first base to third in order to make room for free agent Prince Fielder.
The 29-year-old Cabrera came on strong at the end of the season to help the Tigers overcome a sluggish start to overtake the Chicago White Sox and win the AL Central title on their way to a trip to the World Series.
The Tiger third baseman collected 22 of 28 first-place votes for a comfortable victory over Trout, who got the other six first-place votes in balloting by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Trout had a phenomenal rookie season after joining the Angels at the end of April, hitting .326 with 30 home runs while leading the major leagues with 129 runs scored.
The 21-year-old Trout also stole 49 bases to lead the American League, while being caught only five times, and played spectacular defense in center field.
(Editing by Julian Linden)