To the Editor:

Sports pages have been laden lately with the stories of the scandalous behavior of some professional superstars.

While it is important that the public be informed about the lying and the drug taking, it is sad to note that a great accomplishment, by a lesser-known athlete, was accorded so little mention.

When the 2012 season ended, Miguel Cabrera was the winner of Major League Baseball’s batting Triple Crown. To receive this title meant he had to be first in batting average, have the most runs batted in (RBIs) and to have hit the most home runs in the season.

In the annals of baseball’s long history, there have only been 14 other players to have received this title, the all-hoped-for goal of almost every man who tapped his cleated shoes and stepped into the batter’s box. Why has the public been so uninformed? Even Carl Yastrzemski, the last player to achieve the coveted title has lauded Cabrera’s accomplishment.

“Yaz,” as he was known, had his amazing season in 1967. Just think about that for a moment.

That’s 45 years ago! Why has the media written so little about this event?

With “Yaz” and his fellow Crown winners now ensconced in the Hall of Fame, it seems that Cabrera is almost assured to take his place in Cooperstown. His historic feat demands the media’s attention!

“C’mon, sportswriters, give the guy a printed word or two.”

Whether a player is from the Barrio Centro of Maracay, Venezuela, or the windswept town of Bridgehampton on the southern fork of New York’s Long Island, equal attention should be given.

“Yaz” honed his skills by swinging at an old baseball that his father hung in the  barn. He continued to get better by using his natural abilities and earned the crown through sheer determination. Not too bad for the son of a Polish potato farming emigrant.

How Cabrera earned his crown is hard to determine as little information is known of his time playing among the barrios of Maracay. But, he made it to the major leagues!

As there is no evidence of performance enhancing drugs, it is likely that “Cha-Cha,” as he was known to some, made it with some good coaching and his God-given talents.

RALPH C. DRAMSTAD

Washington