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Don't call it a comeback. I've been here for years. -- L.L. Cool JOne of hip-hop's most famous opening lines seems apropos when discussing Major League Baseball players in the midst of comeback seasons. Yes, they're enjoying the fact that 2011 has seen them bounce back from statistical struggles during their 2010 campaigns, tough injuries, the cruel realities of a performance-based business that football online will ship you off to the back outposts of the Minor Leagues without hesitation, or all three. But when the discussion for the upcoming Comeback Player of the Year awards comes up, players in each league who find themselves in the discussion would probably rather not have to be mentioned. Simply put, they'd have preferred if the obstacles they had to overcome to enjoy so much success never presente football online d themselves in the first place.Alas, there wouldn't be an award without those struggles, and in many cases, a comeback is the motivation a player needs to not give up."I really did want to prove everybody, not wrong, but just know that I could be back and I'm fine," current D-backs and former Toronto second baseman Aaron Hill said after winning the award in 2009, which came a year after a concuss football online ion threatened to end his career. "That was the main goal. That was really the only goal this year." Comeback Player of the Year honors will be awarded after an early-October vote by all 30 MLB.com beat reporters for the American and National Leaguer best described as one who has "re-emerged on the baseball field in a given season."We're in the homestretch of 2011, and we've had plenty of time to football online watch with respect and, in some cases, amazement as players have rebounded from adversity or reappeared from nowhere to put up big numbers and help their clubs win games. Here's a look at some of the premier Comeback Player of the Year candidates from each league: NATIONAL LEAGUELance Berkman, Cardinals: Fans who watched Berkman lumbering around in a Yankees uniform in late 2010 might have thought football online his career was on the decline at the age of 35, and those same fans might have raised an eyebrow or two when Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak signed him in the offseason ... to play the outfield. Nobody's questioning the move now, not after Berkman surged back to prominence with an All-Star year in which he's hit 30 homers with 84 RBIs and a .949 on-base-plus-slugging (OPS).Ryan Vogelsong, football online Giants: He hadn't pitched in the Major Leagues since making 20 forgettable relief appearances for the 2006 Pittsburgh Pirates, but at the age of 33, after stints in Japan and Triple-A, Vogelsong made the defending World Series champion Giants as a non-roster invitee, cracked their vaunted starting rotation, pitched his way to an All-Star appearance and has a 10-6 record and a 2.62 ERA.Kyle Lohse, football online Cardinals: Lohse made only 18 starts in 2010 and logged a 6.55 ERA before packing it in with a forearm injury. But Lohse had come all the way back in 2011 and then some, going 13-8 with a 3.59 ERA for St. Louis. He's on pace to get close to 200 innings and to post the lowest WHIP (1.17 ) of his career.Jason Isringhausen, Mets: At the age of 38 and having not pitched in more than nine big league g football online ames since 2008, the former A's and Cardinals All-Star closer became the Mets' closer. Isringhausen secured a job in the New York bullpen in April and never looked back, logging his 300th save along the way and putting up respectable numbers -- a 4.05 ERA and 1.29 WHIP.AMERICAN LEAGUEJacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox: Ellsbury is not only a Comeback Player favorite, he's a legitimate AL Most Valuable Playe football online r Award contender. Boston's leadoff man and center fielder played in 18 games in 2010 before a rib cage injury ended his season. This year, he's realized his potential and, when power is considered, exceeded it. Ellsbury is batting .317 with 25 home runs, 80 RBIs, 36 stolen bases, 103 runs and a career-best .909 OPS.Josh Beckett, Red Sox: Beckett went 6-6 with a career-worst 5.78 ERA and 1.54 WHIP football online in 2010 and made only 21 starts because back pain kept him on the shelf for nine weeks. The flip of the calendar and a healthy back has done wonders for Beckett, who's back all the way with the usual mid-90s velocity and biting curve and the numbers to match: 12-5 record, 2.49 ERA and 0.99 WHIP.Casey Kotchman, Rays: Kotchman had such a poor year at the plate in 2010 with the Mariners (.217 battin football online g average, .616 OPS) that he was non-tendered by Seattle and couldn't land a Major League deal anywhere. He signed a Minor League contract with Tampa Bay, accepted an invitation to Spring Training to play for Joe Maddon, earned a job and started hitting. He hasn't stopped. Kotchman currently has the best batting average (.313) and on-base percentage (.379) of his career. Melky Cabrera, Royals: In football online his age-25 season in Atlanta last year, one-time big Yankees prospect Cabrera looked to be at a career crossroads. He hit .255 with four homers and 41 RBIs and didn't figure into the Braves' future plans. Well, he figured into Kansas City's. This year, Cabrera has become the player the Yankees predicted he'd be all those years ago. He has posted career-best totals in batting average (.300), OPS (. football online 799), home runs (17), RBIs (81), hits (178), doubles (39), runs (90) and stolen bases (18).HONORABLE MENTIONSAL starters Bartolo Colon of the Yankees, Erik Bedard of the Red Sox and Jake Peavy of the White Sox don't have the eye-popping records or minuscule ERAs, but the fact that all three came back from devastating -- and, in Peavy's case, never-before-seen -- shoulder injuries to have their mo football online ments in 2011 deserves kudos. The same goes for Jair Jurrjens of the Braves, who suffered through a banged-up 2010 campaign but rebounded as an All-Star this year, and Jordan Zimmermann of the Nationals and Brandon McCarthy of the A's, who both missed all of 2010 recovering from surgeries.Twins closer Joe Nathan came back from a 2010 spent on the sidelines recovering from Tommy John surgery to rec football online laim his role as Minnesota's feared ninth-inning man, and right-handed starters Aaron Harang of the Padres and Charlie Morton of the Pirates figured something out to post major statistical improvements over the previous season.In the position-player ranks, O's shortstop J.J. Hardy overcame the injuries that hampered his production in 2010 to become a major power threat for his team.And while they football online might be more breakout seasons than traditional comebacks, Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera got healthy and put up numbers that made him an All-Star starter, including a career-high home run total that blew away anything he'd done previously, and D-backs outfielder Ryan Roberts did the same, adding stolen bases to his repertoire, too.Elsewhere, Dodgers reliever Mike MacDougal once again became a football online bullpen staple, Yankees catcher Russell Martin's home run stroke returned after a two-year absence, and Indians catcher Carlos Santana began to deliver on the rookie promise we saw in 2010 before his season-ending injury.In Texas, Endy Chavez returned from a crippling knee injury suffered in 2009 to help spark his team to postseason contention in the AL West. In Colorado, first baseman Todd Helto football online n showed he isn't done yet at age 37, improving across the board offensively after a down, injury-riddled 2010.And in Arizona, third baseman Sean Burroughs came back to the game he loves for the first time since 2006. He didn't put up big numbers, but in fighting his way through substance abuse, sobering up and putting in the work to return to baseball's highest level, he defined the term "comebac football online k." football online
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