![]() His WHIP is down to 1.18 and his ERA has tumbled from 5.19 to 3.70. A move to the more pitcher-friendly Target Field as a free agent figured to give Hughes a boost, but the effect has been profound across all categories. Just one year ago, pitching for an 85-win Yankees team, Hughes went 4-14 with a grim 1.46 WHIP (walks and hits per inning). Let's set aside the debate over wins as a pitching stat momentarily and tip the cap to Hughes for an impressive turnaround. The party crasher: Phil Hughes, Twins (14). ![]() Leaders: Max Scherzer, Tigers, Jered Weaver, Angels, Rick Porcello, Tigers (15 each) He may dip below the bar set by recent HR champs Pedro Alvarez (.232 in 2013) and Carlos Pena (.227 in 2009) when it comes to average. 225 – and a whopping 149 strikeouts - entering Sunday, Carter fits the ethos of the modern slugger: Bombs away, batting average and strikeouts be darned. Carter, however, is the only one of the trio toting a historically anemic batting average for a home run champ. It will be a compelling three-man race between Cruz, Carter and White Sox rookie Jose Abreu, who also has 33 home runs. The party crasher: Chris Carter, Astros (33). Even in the more hitter-friendly AL, smaller ball can get it done. The AL's five previous batting champs – Cabrera, Josh Hamilton and Joe Mauer – averaged 36 home runs in winning their titles. And while Altuve has a whopping six home runs, he, perhaps more than Revere, personifies the shift in offensive production across the majors. At 5-5, Altuve can't look even Revere in the eye, but he's on track to unseat three-time batting champ Miguel Cabrera in the AL. 318 in 1972 has a batting champ hit so few home runs. Not since Rod Carew hit zero home runs while batting an AL-best. He hasn't hit one since, setting himself up for a feat of Hall of Fame proportions – really. Revere has 1,909 major league plate appearances, but had zero major league home runs until going deep May 27 off Colorado's Boone Logan.
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