Comparing Shohei Ohtani's first 42 games to Miguel Cabrera's 2012 season: Can Japanese superstar replicate historic Triple Crown feat?

Through the first 42 games, Shohei Ohtani is among the top four in the Triple Crown categories in the National League. He is fourth in RBI, first in home runs, and first in batting average (he also leads all players in this category). Having two out of three by this stage in the season bodes well for the future, but accomplishing what Miguel Cabrera did in 2012 is going to be extremely difficult.

Shohei Ohtani is one of the sport's best hitters, so he is more than capable of it. If there was ever a knock on his game, it's that he was more of a power hitter than an average hitter. Nevertheless, he has the best batting average in baseball by eight points.

He will always hit home runs and drive in runs, but hitting for average in 2024 gives him an excellent shot at winning the Triple Crown if he can keep up the pace. Looking back at Cabrera's season, he was only hitting .305 through May 14, so Ohtani has the leg up there.

Cabrera also only had seven home runs and 28 RBI by this point, so Ohtani is ahead once again. Unfortunately, the competition Ohtani faces is steep, and Cabrera had to go on a hot streak the rest of the season to win the crown.

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Who could disrupt Shohei Ohtani's Triple Crown season?

To lead in three different categories of hitting statistics is almost unheard of. The last time it happened was in 2012, though Aaron Judge was just five batting average points shy of it in 2022.

There are a lot of players who could contend for the lead in any single category. For batting average, Shohei Ohtani's own teammates might get in his way. Both Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman hit for a high average, potentially getting in Ohtani's path. Others could include Trea Turner, Luis Arraez, William Contreras and Alec Bohm.

Mookie Betts could compete with Shohei Ohtani

Leading in home runs is right up Ohtani's alley. He routinely does and is the NL leader right now. However, several are close behind him and could get the lead in the NL this year: Marcell Ozuna, Teoscar Hernandez, Pete Alonso, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Matt Olson.

RBI is the most difficult one to predict since it requires players on base. That's where Ohtani has the advantage, with Betts hitting and getting on base ahead of him. Some other candidates include Marcell Ozuna (MLB leader right now), Hernandez, Contreras, Willy Adames, Jake Cronenworth and Rhys Hoskins.

Leading in all three categories, fortunately, only has to apply to NL hitters for Ohtani. Therefore, he's not competing with the likes of Gunnar Henderson, Corey Seager, Aaron Judge or Juan Soto. Nevertheless, it's a hard feat to accomplish with a lot of contenders.