AL Comeback Player of the Year: Alex Rodriguez vs. the field
Alex Rodriguez is knocking some pretty significant baseball names down a few rungs on the milestone ladder this year with every swing of his bat. He’s one base hit away from 3,000. In all reality, seven more Hall of Famers will likely be displaced by A-Rod by the time the 2015 regular season has evaporated.
It has to be difficult for some fans and baseball historians to stomach. Mainly because the one-time-revered-now-mostly-reviled slugger is bypassing a number of men who played the game the right way and were rewarded justly with a plaque in Cooperstown. Meanwhile, Rodriguez might have to hire one of the best lobbyist groups in North America in order to receive the same honor, but even that probably won’t be enough.
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For all the A-Rod haters out there, it appears as though Prince Fielder stands to be the man most capable of wrestling the Comeback Player of the Year award away from Rodriguez, denying him one further shiny piece of metal on his mantle. It might not be Major League Baseball’s most prestigious award, but it’s still something. The voting panel got it right in the American League last year by handing it over to then 35-year-old pitcher Chris Young, who been overcoming adversity for much of his career.
Rodriguez missed all of 2014 due to his own actions and involvement with Biogenesis. The conscious decisions he made led to his own suspension. Whereas players like Fielder and Manny Machado were sidelined due to unfortunate and uncontrollable injuries that befell them.
As it is now, Fielder is the most difficult player to overlook. He’s second in MLB with 88 hits, fourth in batting average at .344 and tenth in OPS with a .933 mark. His power numbers are fine as well, with 11 home runs and 47 RBI. Home runs is the only significant stat category where Rodriguez (12) leads Fielder.
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If he is now indeed 100 percent clean and has been for some time, Rodriguez’s success and pursuit of various milestones is tough to completely overlook at 39. He’ll turn 40 before the season comes to an end. Statistically, he’s having his best season since 2010 when he hit .270-30-125. A-Rod is obviously still skilled enough that Joe Girardi can’t bury him on the depth chart or use him in a platoon/situational role, probably much to Brian Cashman’s disdain.
Fielder’s hitting from an individual level has been rewarding for his fans to witness, but he’s also a huge reason why the Texas Rangers are currently relevant in the AL West. Texas recently finished winning 3-of-4 against the Los Angeles Dodgers and are beginning to leave teams like the Angels and Mariners in their rearview. He and A-Rod’s wins above replacement numbers are weighted differently because they both serve as full-time designated hitter’s, but Fielder’s sits at 1.5 while Rodriguez’s is 1.7.
Of course, it’s entirely possible neither Fielder or Rodriguez such an award. Machado is having a stellar return to the game after missing half of 2014 due to a second surgery on a different knee. The Baby Face Assassin is yet to turn 23 and is having a career year.
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He and Josh Donaldson are two of the best at their position in MLB as hitters and fielders, so Machado is a huge asset on defense for his Baltimore Orioles as well. His dWAR of 1.0, impressive as it is after only 66 games, is marginalized by his 2.5 oWAR. He ranks fifth, right behind Donaldson league-wide, for UZR amongst third basemen. Hitting primarily out of the leadoff spot in Buck Showalter‘s lineup this year, Machado is hitting for average, power, driving in runs and even has 10 stolen bases despite having to run on two repaired limbs.
The Rangers’ Shin-Soo Choo should not be ruled out entirely after missing a decent chunk of games and playing poorly in 2014. He did play in 123 games, so if Choo is a candidate, the Indians’ Jason Kipnis should be as well with 129 underwhelming games played in 2014 or Boston’s Hanley Ramirez with 128.
There’s really not much in the AL in terms of viable pitching options, though. Derek Holland might have been, but he again has been very limited in 2015 and is not expected back anytime soon. The trend of associating Rangers players with the word ‘comeback’ goes to show how truly unfortunate the club was in 2014.
Perhaps Danny Salazar of the Indians could be considered, if starting only 20 games last season qualifies him. Yankees’ C.C. Sabathia would have to pitch phenomenal in the second half to gain any consideration.
Alex Rodriguez’s biggest chip in his stack this year is that from everyone mentioned above, he’s the only one who did not appear in a single MLB game in 2014. This season will be a memorable one for A-Rod regardless of any officially recognized awards from MLB. It’s the year he will pass countless legends of the game in significant lifetime counting stats, further perpetuating the villainous imagery of his own career and that of the Evil Empire. A-Rod just eats it up, all the while grinning and collecting his huge pay checks.