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Over the years, Cabrera struggled with alcohol and his weight; he fought to find an established position in the field; and he was traded, at age 24, from the Marlins to the Detroit Tigers. But Cabrera never lost that which everyone agreed he possessed like few others: a discriminating eye at the plate and a sweet, timely and fluidly powerful swing.

On Wednesday night, Cabrera, whose father was a professional baseball player in Venezuela and whose mother was the star shortstop for that country’s national softball team, found his way into the history books of America’s national pastime as the first player in nearly half a century to win the triple crown, leading the American League in home runs, batting average and runs batted in. Ruth never did it. Neither did DiMaggio, Aaron, Musial, Clemente or Jackson. Ted Williams did it twice, and Mickey Mantle once. The last player to accomplish the feat was Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox in 1967, when Lyndon Johnson was president, free agency was a pipe dream and the Boston left fielder known as Yaz chain smoked cigarettes in the dugout.

“It’s definitely foreign to guys my age or younger, and even guys older than myself,” Alex Avila, the 25-year-old catcher for the Tigers, said of achieving a triple crown. “That’ll probably be the greatest thing that I’ll ever see in my career.”

One Tigers rookie, Quintin Berry, did not even know until Wednesday afternoon that no one had won the triple crown in 45 years when he, at last, heard some of his teammates mentioning the drought.

As he swung his way to history, Cabrera has been a reluctant star. He shies away from discussing the feat. In the clubhouse here, his locker was positioned out of view of the television. Before the game, while his teammates lounged on black leather couches clinging to every at-bat by Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, who entered the day trailing Cabrera by one home run, Cabrera kept his distance. He did not address members of the news media before the game.

Hamilton was the only truly serious threat to Cabrera on Wednesday. But with the Rangers playing a day game, Cabrera had the luxury of knowing, by the opening pitch here, that he would probably not be caught. Hamilton failed to homer in five at-bats, finishing with 43. Cabrera was pulled from Wednesday’s game after going 0 for 2, and he finished with 44 homers, 139 R.B.I. and a .330 batting average.

The achievement became official in the middle of the sixth inning and a message was put on the big screen saying, “Congratulations from the Royals and our fans.” The players paused as Cabrera received a standing ovation.

Going into the final day of the season, the Angels’ rookie phenom, Mike Trout had a mathematical shot of taking the batting title. But Jim Leyland, the Tigers’ manager, had said he would pull Cabrera to protect his average and keep him out of Trout’s even theoretical reach. (Trout finished at .326.)

“This is a huge story and I want everybody to enjoy it,” said Leyland, his feet kicked up on his desk as he addressed reporters before the game. “They should enjoy it.” Leyland could also enjoy it since his team had clinched the A.L. Central title and a spot in the best-of-five division series.

Since 1967, there have been 47 occasions in which a player led his league in two of the three categories, most recently Matt Kemp of the Dodgers last season. The Angels slugger Albert Pujols twice came close to winning the triple crown when he played for the Cardinals: in 2003, he was four home runs and 17 R.B.I. short, and in 2009 he missed it by six R.B.I. and 15 points in batting average. Playing for the Padres in 1992, Gary Sheffield missed the accomplishment by two home runs and nine R.B.I.

For Cabrera, prevailing in the home run category should have been dauntingly difficult, given the distant outfield fences at his home ballpark, Comerica Park.

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