Detroit Tigers All-Star sluggers Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder will grace the cover of Sports Illustrated for the popular magazine's June 17 issue.
For the first time since Al Kaline and Denny McLain made the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1968, the leading sports magazine will feature again two Tigers players whose bats have been the driving force for the team's dominance this season.
Also known as the Bash Brothers, Cabrera and Fielder form one of the most explosive batting tandems in baseball right now with both sluggers already producing double-digit home run total this season.
Cabrera, who pulled off a Triple Crown last season, is still in form for another run at the prestigious and rare title. Miggy is batting .363 with 18 homers and 69 RBIs so far while showing improvement in his defensive game. On the other hand, Fielder is averaging a pretty decent .282 at the plate with 12 homers and 51 RBIs.
Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Rosenberg believes the Cabrera-Fielder tandem could go down in history as one of the greatest one-two punch in baseball alongside the New York Yankees' Micky Mantle and Roger Maris, Atlanta Braves' Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews, and another Yankees tandem of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
"Cabrera is the best hitter in baseball and Fielder is the game's best sidekick. Years from now, we may look back and decide Cabrera is Mickey Mantle and Fielder is Roger Maris. Or Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews. Or Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig," stated Rosenberg in his story.
So far, the comparison is quite exaggerated. However, there's no doubt these two batters are both valuable and indispensable for the Tigers' World Series hope.