Maybe the Tigers will have their third straight American League MVP next year, and maybe Prince Fielder will be the player that makes it happen.

It has been a half-century since any big-league team provided the MVP three years in a row with three different players. The Yankees did it in 1961-63 with Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle and Elston Howard, respectively.

Justin Verlander won the AL MVP last year and now Miguel Cabrera has succeeded him.

Fielder has played a supporting role in an MVP two years in a row. He hit directly behind Ryan Braun in Milwaukee last year when Braun won the NL MVP.