Have you checked out the American League batting leaders lately?
        Let’s see: The Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez, last year’s MVP, was leading the league at .322 going into Tuesday night’s games. No surprise there.
        But who was right behind him, in second place, just one point back at .321?
        None other than Magglio Ordonez, the reigning A.L. batting king.
        Quietly, which is always the way Ordonez prefers to do things, Magglio has moved into contention for another crown with his continued consistent hitting.
        At the moment, it’s a very tight race. The Texas Rangers’ Milton Bradley is third at .320 and the Rangers’ Ian Kinsler is fourth at .318.
        No A.L. player has won back-to-back titles since Boston’s Nomar Garciaparra did it in 1999-2000.
        No Tiger has won back-to-back batting championship since Ty Cobb won three  a row from 1917-19, and nine straight before that from 1907-15.
        Harry Heilmann, Cobb’s protégé, made a habit of winning batting titles in alternate years -- 1921, ‘23, ‘25, and ‘27.