Cage Match: Cabrera vs. Trout.

All right, there has been so much speculation on the AL MVP award winner that I've finally decided to put my two cents in (sports fans everywhere wait with bated breath). It seems all but settled that this year, the award is between two men and two men only: Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera, and Angels center fielder Mike Trout. Narrowing it down to the two of them was difficult enough for baseball fans. It only gets harder from here.

Look out, Carl Yastrzemski...after four and a half decades, you may have some new company.

Cabrera, 29, has been something of a quiet superstar for almost a decade now. He debuted with the Marlins back in 2003, the last time they won the World Series thanks in part to Miggy, and missed out on the Rookie of the Year award to teammate Dontrelle Willis. Since then, he's been an All-Star 7 times, won 3 Silver Slugger awards (notably missing from his impressive resume is a single Gold Glove), and has been a home run, batting average and RBI champion, albeit in separate years. Since 2008, though, he's been a legitimate Triple Crown candidate every season, and this year he's gotten closer than ever before: as of now, he's leading in batting average and RBIs, and is behind Josh Hamilton for the home run lead by only one long ball. Never known for his stellar defense at first, Cabrera has made the transition to third as smoothly as someone who's 240 pounds can play at a position for people who are lighter and quicker. He's received MVP votes in every single season he's played, and was in the top 5 for three of those years, but this season is the first time that he's one of the clear-cut probables. To make an even stronger case for himself this year, he's a legitimate shot to win the first Triple Crown since Boston's Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967. And, if it weren't for the youngster we're about to discuss, he'd run away with the award for the first time in his relatively short career.

"Bryce Harper's going to be the best rookie this year? We'll see about that."

Trout, 21, burst onto the scene this year and he already has people drawing comparisons to Mickey Mantle and Rickey Henderson. In a year where Bryce Harper was slated to be the hottest rookie in baseball, Mike has made opposing teams look silly: even though he missed nearly the whole first month of the season, his stats (.322 average, 30 home runs, 80 RBIs, 48 stolen bases and an OPS flirting with 1.000) are absolutely shocking. The catch he made to rob Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy of a home run is already being hailed as one of the greatest defensive plays in years. It says a lot about you when Albert Pujols is in the same lineup as you, but YOU are the most intimidating batter on the team. Even after their flurry of offseason moves that had most baseball fans calling the 2012 World Series in their favor, the Angels suffered mightily before bringing up the young phenom. Before Mike was called up on April 28, the Angels, with all their added star power, were only 7-14. Pujols hadn't hit a single homer. Since then, they've gone 81-56. Coincidence, maybe, but it's hard to argue that he added the final boost they needed in Anaheim. He was a little Trout in a big pond, but he's made the game look like a puddle in the way that nobody seems to be able to contain him.

So if the stats are so similar, which slugger deserves the top honors more? Both are on a team that is struggling to make the playoffs, even though their respective franchises were supposedly scheduled to meet in this year's ALCS, just further proof that you can't determine a winner by how much they spend (yes, this is coming from a Yankees fan). Both have insane talent and ability, so much so that their numbers this year aren't even considered good for them, but rather the rule instead of the exception. For comparison's sake, almost any other position player would have a career year just with Trout's numbers, let alone Miggy's. Both are either in their prime or years away from it, and Trout's trajectory is startling similar to Cabrera's.

But which one is Most Valuable?

Can't we just make them both MVP? This is too hard.

According to the sabermetrics, every math geek's best friend, Trout is leading baseball with a 10.4 WAR, Wins Above Replacement, which factors in a starting player's performance and determines his worth compared to that of a replacement-level bench player. Cabrera is only at 6.7. Trout's BABIP, Batting Average on Balls In Play, is an outrageous .374, while Cabrera's is only (used very sarcastically) .328. According to UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating), a metric that determines a player's worth defensively, Trout is absolutely spectacular, rating a 13.3 in the field, whereas Cabrera is a -9.2 at third base, as if there was any more proof necessary that he's unfit for the position. When it boils right down to it, Cabrera may have Trout beat offensively (and not even by that much), but defensively, sabermetrically, and overall statistically, Trout bests his contemporary without question.

One's gunning for the first batting Triple Crown in 45 years, the other is the youngest player to ever record a 30/30 season. There is no wrong decision. For my part (and the part of a slightly biased, well-informed friend who advised me on this post), I'm going with Mike Trout for MVP. But if Miguel Cabrera wins it, I can't say I'll be upset. And seeing as this is one of the best offseason award races in years, baseball and its fans win either way.