Earning The Sporting News' American League Comeback Player of the Year Award, as picked by his peers, was a gratifying honor for White Sox designated hitter Adam Dunn.
"It's an award I hope I never win again," Dunn said during a conference call Tuesday afternoon. "It's one of those that's bittersweet. "One of two things has to happen: Either you are injured for most of the year or you have a really bad, terrible season. The good thing is it's a semi-turnaround."
Dunn, 32, captured this particular award with 41 homers, 96 RBIs, 105 walks and 87 runs scored over 151 games in 2012 for the White Sox. He topped the Majors with those 105 walks, not to mention the 4.43 pitches per plate appearance he saw. Players voted for Dunn even with his .204 batting average and 222 strikeouts, which left him two short of setting the single-season Major League record in this individual category. Batting average has never been a crucial statistic for the prolific slugger, who notched his 1,000th career RBI on Aug. 13 at Toronto and hit his 400th career home run on Aug. 18 at Kansas City. Dunn was affected by a strained right oblique for much of September.
Major League Baseball's Comeback Player of the Year awards, announced last Friday, went to Tampa Bay's Fernando Rodney and the Giants' Buster Posey. This version was voted on by the 30 MLB.com beat writers.
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