Here's some nice news to kick off the Nationals' offseason: Dmitri Young has been named the NL Comeback Player of the Year.
What a fitting conclusion to a remarkable season for Dmitri, who overcame so much -- substance abuse, legal troubles, diabetes -- to have the best season of his career. I can't help but think back to the day he arrived in Viera, overweight, messy hair, wearing a bright orange "Sanford and Son" T-shirt. I will admit that my first thought was: "There's no way this guy should be playing baseball right now!" Boy, was I wrong.
Dmitri didn't just get his life back in order and play outstanding baseball, he became the leader of the Nationals' clubhouse. Having now covered him for eight months, I can say he is genuinely one of the nicest, most-caring professional athletes around. He can be both deadly serious and hysterically funny, often within the span of a few minutes.
Congrats to Dmitri for this truly deserving award. He's due to speak to reporters this afternoon at RFK, so there will be plenty more from the man shortly.
(And on an aside, who watched last night's thriller at Coors Field? How about that Jamey Carroll, huh? One of the greatest finishes to a ballgame I've ever seen. But was it legit? Did Matt Holliday actually touch home plate? Let the debate begin!")
Comments (1)
Someone needs to teach Matt Holliday how to slide. Felipe Lopez has a sweet feet- first slide past the catcher where he reaches out and touches the plate with his left hand. Matt's head-first slide not only didn't touch the plate, but knocked him out so that he couldn't roll over and touch the plate. Umpire Tim McClelland takes his time with a signal anyhow - ask Dave Jaegler. (Remember the "infield fly rule" call during the rain in Miami?) Did TBS or anyone have an arial shot of the slide? Shame on them! What a game! Cal Ripken, Tim Kurkjean, and Orel Hershiser all said that Holliday missed the plate. If Tim calls him out, then the Padres are out of inning.
Posted by flynnie | October 2, 2007 11:25 AM