The Sporting News Says: Adam Dunn for AL Comeback Player of the Year

The Sporting News is not interested in who wins your awards. They aren’t particularly interested in who wins Major League Baseball’s version of awards either. Though Fernando Rodney secured himself Comeback Player of the Year honors where MLB is concerned, The Sporting News believes the Big Donkey is the winner.

Adam Dunn upped his HR total by 30 in 2012, and his walk total by the same amount while turning in a batting average 45 points higher, reaching the always magical .204 mark. Low average jokes aside, the turnaround from Dunn was tremendous. His 2011 performances was one of the worst in history, and he was in danger of his career coming to a premature end. 2012 proved Adam Dunn not only wanted to stay in the league, but was physically capable of doing so. Dunn’s 40 homeruns were much more reflective of the numbers he continuously put up prior to his 2011 plummet.

You may recall in the not-so-distant past another time a White Sox player won an award from the Sporting News after having already lost the real one when Gordon Beckham took home the 2009 Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award despite finishing 5th in official voting (Andrew Bailey won).