Adam Dunn, Buster Posey named top comeback players by Sporting News

Adam Dunn and Buster Posey were named the Comeback Players of the Year by the Sporting News. Last week MLB.com gave its Comebacker Player of the Year awards to Posey and Tampa Bay closer Fernando Rodney.

By C. Trent Rosecrans

Oct 23, 2012 at 4:33 pm ET • 1 min read

Adam Dunn hit 41 home runs in 2012. (US Presswire)

Buster Posey is the consensus National League Comeback Player of the Year, winning the Sporting News' version of the award. Last week MLB.com announced its Comeback Players of the Year, with Posey winning the National League version and Tampa Bay's Fernando Rodney winning the AL version. The Sporting News gave its American League award to Chicago's Adam Dunn.

The Sporting News uses a poll of 203 major-league players to determine its winners.

While Posey was coming back from a devastating knee injury sustained early in 2011, Dunn was coming off perhaps the worst season ever recorded by a position player. Dunn hit just .159/.292/.277 with 11 home runs in his first season with the White Sox. This season he hit .204/.333/.468 with 41 home runs. He led the league in both walks (105) and strikeouts (222).

Dunn underwent an emergency appendectomy early in the 2011 season but didn't sustain a huge injury like Posey.

Some argue the Comeback Player of the Year should be for a player who overcame some sort of physical adversity to return to the playing field. I prefer a more open-ended interpretation that allows for the inclusion of players like Dunn and Rodney. While it's not easy to overcome a knee injury like the one Posey had, it's also tough to come back mentally from a season like the one Dunn suffered through in 2011. That turnaround is just as impressive to me as someone who went through the physical rehab to return to form.

Angels DH/1B Kendrys Morales finished second in the Sporting News' AL balloting, followed by Rangers closer Joe Nathan, White Sox outfielder Alex Rios and Rodney.

Posey, a favorite for league MVP, was picked ahead of the Nationals' Adam LaRoche, the Dodgers' Ronald Belisario, Kris Medlen of the Braves and a tie of the Pirates' A.J. Burnett and Reds' Ryan Ludwick for the fifth spot.