Budweiser presents American League Player of the Month for August

Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera has been voted the Budweiser Presents American League Player of the Month for August. Budweiser, the official beer sponsor of Major League Baseball and sponsor of 23 of 30 clubs, is also the presenting sponsor of the National League Player of the Month Award.

Cabrera batted .356 (36-for-101) with five doubles, 11 home runs, 31 RBI, 17 runs scored and 13 walks in 27 games to claim his fourth career Player of the Month Award and his second of the 2013 season, also winning for the month of June. Prior to this year, he also won top player honors in July 2008 and August 2012, both while playing with Detroit. Miguel's 11 homers were the most by a Tiger player in the month of August since Hall of Famer Al Kaline (12) in 1957. Among A.L. leaders with a minimum of 84 plate appearances during the period, the 30-year-old finished first in slugging percentage (.733) and total bases (74), was tied for first in homers and RBI, was fourth in batting average, was tied for fourth in extra-base hits (16) and was sixth in on-base percentage (.430). In addition, the Venezuelan native hit safely in 23 of 27 games and reached base safely in his first 26 games of the month before departing his final contest on August 30th after one hitless at-bat due to injury, snapping a 32-game string dating back to July 20th.

Among his highlights, the 11-year veteran put together a four-game stretch with multiple hits from August 9th-12th, three of which came against the New York Yankees in the Bronx where the slugger batted .538 (7-for-13) with a double, three homers, five RBI and four runs scored in the three-game set with the Bombers. After launching a homer and collecting three RBI in a narrow 4-3 loss to the Yanks in the series-opener on August 9th, the eight-time All-Star went 3-for-5 the next day with a solo shot and two runs scored to lead Detroit to a 9-3 triumph. On August 18th, Miguel provided what would be the game's difference with a 2-for-3 effort, connecting on another home run and tallying three RBI as the Tigers defeated the Kansas City Royals, 6-3, at Comerica Park. Finally, in a return trip to New York City to square off against the Mets, the 2012 A.L. MVP went 3-for-4 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored on August 25th to help Detroit to an 11-3 victory and a three-game sweep at Citi Field.

The 2012 A.L. Triple Crown winner has put together another stellar season heading into the final month. Entering play today, Miguel leads the A.L. in batting average (.355), RBI (130), on-base percentage (.446), slugging percentage (.676) and total bases (329), is tied for first in runs scored (95), ranks second in homers (43), intentional walks (17) and extra-base hits (69), is tied for second in hits (173) and is third in walks (77). Cabrera is four home runs behind Baltimore's Chris Davis for the A.L. lead in his bid for an unprecedented second consecutive Triple Crown.

Others receiving votes included Alfonso Soriano (.257, 11 HR, 31 RBI, 21 R) of the New York Yankees; Adrian Beltre (.381, 5 HR, 21 RBI, 20 R) of the Texas Rangers; and Mike Trout (.337, 6 HR, 16 RBI, 19 R, 25 BB) of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The Budweiser Presents American League Player of the Month, Miguel Cabrera, will receive a specially designed trophy, suitably engraved, for his accomplishment.