Miguel Cabrera has his Triple Crown. MVP award, maybe not.

Hold on, now. How could that be?

Mike Trout, that’s how.

It’s the hottest debate in baseball, seemingly pitting old-school traditionalists against new-age number crunchers in a bench-clearing shouting match over what constitutes “valuable.”

At stake is the American League’s Most Valuable Player award, perhaps the game’s top individual prize.

Cabrera capped an extraordinary season Wednesday night by becoming the first Triple Crown winner in the majors since Boston’s Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. The Detroit Tigers’ slugger led the league with a .330 batting average, 44 homers and 139 RBIs — the standard statistical categories by which excellence was commonly judged for the better part of the past century.

“If he’s not the MVP then there’s no such thing,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.

Trout, however, made some history of his own. Called up from the minors three weeks into the season, the Los Angeles Angels’ rookie quickly became a never-before-seen force before his 21st birthday.

Possessing a unique combination of skills in the concrete body of a running back, the dynamic kid from New Jersey did it all — hitting home runs and taking them away with highlight-reel catches high above the center-field fence.

Trout batted .326, second to Cabrera, with 30 homers and 83 RBIs. He also led the majors with 49 stolen bases (in 54 attempts) and 129 runs — 20 more than Cabrera in 22 fewer games. The slumping Angels were 6-14 when they brought up Trout and went 83-59 the rest of the way.

The first big league rookie to reach 30 homers and 40 steals in one season and the youngest player with a 30-30 campaign, Trout struck out 41 more times than Cabrera but committed only four errors in the outfield.

Cabrera had 13 errors after unselfishly switching back to third base when the Tigers signed first baseman Prince Fielder last winter.

“Divide it in half,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “They both had sensational years.”

For anyone who thought winning the Triple Crown would automatically anoint Cabrera the MVP, take note of this: There have been nine Triple Crown seasons since the MVP award was introduced for each league in 1931. Four times, the Triple Crown winner was beaten out for MVP by a player on a pennant winner.

Chuck Klein of the Philadelphia Phillies lost to New York Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell in 1933. Yankees slugger Lou Gehrig was topped by Detroit catcher Mickey Cochrane the following year. And then Boston’s Ted Williams, unpopular with certain writers, fell short to Yankees second baseman Joe Gordon (1942) and center fielder Joe DiMaggio (1947).

At the center of the argument this year is a modern calculation called WAR (Wins Above Replacement), a figure derived from an assortment of other stats.

WAR is designed to go deeper than the conventional numbers in measuring a player’s all-around contribution to team success.

Some think the formula is flawed. Leyland, for example, bemoaned that WAR doesn’t emphasize RBIs enough. Others believe it’s the most complete and accurate appraisal of a player’s true value.

Trout finished with a WAR number of 10.7, best in the majors, according to baseball-reference.com. Cabrera was at 6.9, fourth in the American League.

In the end, the only people with the power to decide it are the 28 members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America who have a vote.

“The fact that he’s led the Tigers to the postseason with a monster September should make him a slight favorite over Trout, though Trout will certainly still have plenty of support for his incredible year,” said Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, who has an AL MVP vote. “I think Detroit’s late-season surge will be a bigger factor if Cabrera wins the MVP than his run at the Triple Crown.”

Trout’s team made a second-half charge but missed the playoffs and finished third in the AL West. Still, the Angels’ final record was one game better than Detroit’s.

Here are predictions for other big awards:

• NL MVP: Worthy contenders include Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen and Milwaukee slugger Ryan Braun, last year’s winner. The nod goes to Giants catcher and NL batting champion Buster Posey, who turned it on in the second half with All-Star teammate Melky Cabrera suspended for a positive drug test.

• AL Cy Young: Another close call. This one goes to Tampa Bay lefty David Price, who barely beats out reigning MVP and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander in part because of the stiffer competition Price faces in the AL East.

• NL Cy Young: One more milestone in the feel-good story that is R.A. Dickey’s winding road to stardom with the New York Mets. Dickey becomes the first knuckleballer to win a Cy Young Award, a thrill he would share with all his old mentors: Phil Niekro, Tim Wakefield, Charlie Hough and the rest. Nationals ace Gio Gonzalez comes in second and Braves closer Craig Kimbrel third.