Poll: AL’s comeback player of the first half of the season

Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

3. Scott Kazmir, Oakland Athletics

Scott Kazmir was one of baseball premier pitchers by the age of 22 when he went to his first All-Star Game. He led the league in strikeouts with 239 in 2008 when he was elected to his second All-Star Game but by 2011 the left-hander had fallen so far he was out of baseball. He hadn’t been injured he had just lost his stuff. No one thought he would be back in baseball until in 2013, he tried again. He earned a spot in the Cleveland Indians starting rotation. Through the first half of 2013 he was a fourth or fifth starter at best going 5-4 with a 4.60 ERA. He had an even better second half of the season posting a 3.38 ERA with 82 strikeouts and 11 walks in just 72 innings, begging the question to some, why is he on this list?

Let me tell you why, he went from an overall 4.04 ERA and a 10-9 record to being an All-Star again this year with Oakland. He’s posted a 2.83 ERA through the first half of the season and has an 11-3 record. He is not coming back from an injury or one bad season, Kazmir was out of baseball completely, had a decent year and is now back to being as good or better at the age of 30 than he was at the time of his first All-Star game eight years ago. That is definitely something that you don’t see everyday, or ever for that matter. Kazmir belongs on this list. He may not win the award but he has played well enough to be considered for it.