Suspended San Francisco Giants slugger Melky Cabrera has been ruled ineligible to win the National League batting tittle, according to a report from CSN Bay Area.
Sources told CSN Bay Area that Cabrera himself asked to be kept from the running after his representatives sent a letter to union officials. The Player's association made a one-time amendment to Rule 10.22(a), which permits a player to be recognized as the official winner if hitless at-bats are added to their average while staying higher than any other qualified player. Cabrera was one short of the 502 plate appearances necessary to win the batting title. Under this new one-time agreement, suspended players will be removed from consideration.
This is likely a move by Cabrera to repair the public image he damaged with his 50-game suspension and attempted cover up by making a fake website to show he took a banned substance without his knowledge.
Cabrera said in a statement that he had "no wish to win an award that would be tainted," and that he felt "it would be far better for someone more deserving to win."
The race for the NL batting title now becomes a two-man battle between Buster Posey and his .335 average and the Pirates' Andrew McCutchen, currently batting .339. Cabrera was hitting .346 when he got suspended on Aug. 15.
Barry Bonds was the last Giants player to win a batting title after he hit .362 back in 2004.
For more on Cabrera and the rest of the Giants, head over to McCovey Chronicles.
