WASHINGTON (AP) -- After a year of professional, legal, medical and substance abuse problems, Dmitri Young was on the bottom rung of baseball when he arrived at spring training with the Washington Nationals in February. All he had was a non-guaranteed minor league contract, a warning there would be "zero tolerance" if he caused any trouble and a generous dose of self-doubt. He practiced on an auxiliary field with prospects, well separated from the players on the major league roster.

On Tuesday, Young was chosen as Major League Baseball's NL comeback player of the year, feted by his team as an inspirational clubhouse leader who flirted with the league's batting title and earned a nice new contract.

"This puts the stamp on everything I've been through, and what I accomplished this year from an individual standpoint," Young said. "And I shed some tears, I looked back, thought about my kids immediately, my parents, my brother and my sisters, all the friends who stuck with me when I was at my absolute lowest, and then the people I met along the way on my way back up." Young, who made the Nationals' roster as the starting first baseman when Nick Johnson was unable to play because of an injury, finished tied for eighth in the NL in batting with a career-high .320 average. He had 13 home runs and 74 RBIs.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_yl...v=ap&type=lgns

That's cool even though I thought it would be Josh Hamilton. But when I think about it he deserves it with everything he went through and not just that he had a great year.