NL MLB Comeback Players of the Year (2007)
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by Romiezzo
With the season almost over, mlb.com has come up with a few players who are considered the comeback players of the year for each league. I'm pretty satisfied with the picks that they have. In case you guys did not know, the "Comeback Player of the Year" is a player who has either come back from an injury or a major slump from last year, and has considered to be a player with a comeback.
There are several players in the National League who are eligible enough for this award. Dmitri Young was considered the top candidate for the NL on mlb.com. A lot of players have come up in a big way, but I think that mlb.com has hit the nail right in the head. Most of the players that mlb.com selected missed about half of last season, like Young, but no one has had a bigger impact than he has. Last year, Young played in only 48 games, and hit .250 with 7 homers and 23 RBIs in 172 at bats. With him watching the Detroit Tigers make it all the way to the World Series and lose, and then go to a team that has had absolutely no hope ever since they moved cities: the Washington Nationals. They have actually moved out of last place and are currently in fourth, and he is a main reason as to why the Nationals aren't where they usually are. In 132 games, he has batted .326 (career high, so far), with 13 homers and 73 RBIs. He currently leads the Nationals (at least starters) in batting average (.326), on-base percentage (.384), slugging percentage (.502), and doubles (38). He is also second in home runs (13) and RBIs (73). To add to his comeback, he represented the Nationals as the only player on the team to be an All-Star. He's doing really well, and looks to help the Nationals become a tougher team to defeat in the near future.
Some of the other candidates are:
- Derrek Lee (who missed under a third of the entire 2006 season). He has definitely proved why the Cubs won only 65 games last season, and are in first place right now. Two years after being talked about being a possible triple crown in the middle of the season, he came back big, and is currently hitting .312, with 18 homers and 74 RBIs. His power numbers might not be as big as before, but he's still a key factor to why the Cubs are currently in first place right now.
- J.J. Hardy (who suffered an ankle injury in 2006), but has become a young shortstop who has made a difference for the Brewers with his 24 homers, 75 RBIs, and 145 hits (compared to 5-14-31)
- Kelly Johnson, who has done really well filling in for Marcus Giles this year (after suffering an elbow injury, and missed the entire 2006 season)
- Kazuo Matsui, who, after two pretty bad seasons with the New York Mets, has come back to help the Colorado Rockies offensively (he's currently batting .291, and has become a pretty good #2 hitter for the Rockies)
- Brad Lidge: This is quite surprising for many people that he's on the list, but when you compare this season's stats with last season's, he's actually a pretty strong candidate for a comeback player. He's done really well as a set-up man for the Astros, and seems to do much better at that position than as a closer. Last year, he had a 5.28 ERA, a 1.400 WHIP, and 4 blown saves. Although he has 6 blown saves this year, he has managed to do much better with the pressure off him, as he currently decreased his ERA to 2.77 and his WHIP to 1.168. (Keep in mind that he had a really bad April/May this year)
- Last but not least: Oliver Perez, who, after a depressing season with the Pittsburgh Pirates last season, has pitched well for the New York Mets, and has become a key factor in the Mets rotation to be where they are right now (you have to give him credit; he's went from 3-13 with a 6.55 ERA and 1.749 WHIP to a 14-9 W-L column and a 3.42 ERA and a 1.282 WHIP).
Players who won't win it, but have (sort of) come back:
- Pedro Martinez (if only he came back earlier; he has been on a tear as of late, going 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA, and 10.0 IP so far)
- Ben Sheets (he's done better in the W-L column, and yes, he was injured for a while, but he's not the best "comeback" player, since last season, he had a 3.82 ERA and 1.094 WHIP, which is really hard to come back from)
- Rick Ankiel (anyone who says he's a comeback player is on dope; he's on steroids and is in a really bad slump right now).
These are all some pretty good candidates. Tell me what you think about them. Did I miss anyone?
