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

The comeback player of the year award is an interesting award as it was only adopted by Major League Baseball in 2005. The Sporting News, however, has been awarding players who have comeback from terrible seasons, injuries or even personal issues since 1965. The Sporting News’ Comeback Player of the Year Award is not officially recognized by MLB.

Whichever way you look at it, whoever’s opinion you agree with or disagree with  the Comeback Player of the Year award is an important one. Imagine you had an injury and comeback to an amazing season or are 40-years old, had been on the decline and comeback to win 18 games. Those are accomplishments that should be acknowledged.

I’ve chosen four candidates that I think could be considered for Comeback Player of the Year if the award was given out during the All-Star break. Also listed will be other candidates I would give honorable mention to or could also be considered as having a comeback year.

Take a look at my candidates and vote in the poll for your choice. If you choose “other” in the poll please leave a comment with your choice. Starting on the next page are my choices for A.L. Comeback Player of the first half of 2014,in alphabetical order.

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1. Melky Cabrera, Toronto Blue Jays

After signing a two-year $16 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays during the 2012 off-season, Melky Cabrera had a rough 2013 riddled with knee and leg injuries. It was later discovered that he had a benign tumor that was very close to his lower spine and it was the tumor that likely caused his leg injuries. Cabrera played in just 88 games last season for the Blue Jays when in every other full season of his career he had played in well over 100 games. 2013 was a disappointing season for Cabrera and the Blue Jays, hitting .279/.322/.360 with 15 doubles, three homers and 30 RBI. 

Turn the page to 2014 and a fully recovered, healthy Cabrera has emerged. The 29-year old has already exceeded the number of games he played in last season with 95, going into the second half. He is hitting .299/.348/.453 with 21 doubles, 11 home runs and 45 RBI. Having already surpassed most of his 2013 numbers, he has already made a huge comeback. If he stays on this course his numbers at the end of the season will not be any less than outstanding.

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2. Phil Hughes, Minnesota Twins

Phil Hughes had an absolutely abysmal year for the Yankees last season. He started the year on the disabled list with a bulging disk in his back which may have attributed to his poor performance but returned from the DL on April 6, apparently healthy. In 2013 he went 4-14 in 29 starts with a 5.19 ERA. The first half of the 2013 season for Hughes was manageable but still bordering on the side of terrible. He was 4-9 with a 4.57 ERA. By the second half of the year Hughes was pitching so poorly he did not win a single start out of 11. He ERA ballooned up to 6.65 and he was relieved from his role as a starter in early September and replaced by David Huff. Hughes made only one more appearance in 2013, out of the bullpen.

2014 has been a completely different year for the right-hander. The Minnesota Twins took a chance on Hughes, signing him as a free agent to a 3-year $24 million deal. Luckily for the Twins, Hughes has delivered in a big way. He is 10-5 in 19 starts through the first half of the season and has posted a 3.92 ERA. He has 108 strikeouts which is quickly approaching his strikeout total for last season (121) and has allowed just 11 walks. He is definitely a good candidate for comeback player of the year if the season ended today.

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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.

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4. Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Considered one of the best, if not the best, hitter of his generation, everyone began to think that Albert Pujols was on the decline in 2013. With nine All-Star appearances and three N.L. MVP under his belt at the age of 33, Pujols numbers were declining steeply. 2013 was the first year of his big league career that he hit under 30 home runs on the year, not only that he hit under 20 home runs finishing the year with just 17 homers and batting just .258. Pujols had never hit under the .300 mark until 2011 when he hit .299 and he hit .285 in 2012 but going all the way down to .258 was a big fall for such an amazing hitter.

He has squelched everyone’s fears so far in 2014. He joined the 500 home run club and has continued moving up the list of the top home run hitters having already hit 20 homers at just the season’s mid-point. Pujols has lost weight, is moving better and is hitting .279. I think the baseball world is glad to see that Pujols is on his way back to being his old self and if his year continues to get better as it has each day since April he could very well be the AL’s comeback player of the year.