Honorable Mention: R.A. Dickey
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The former Cy Young award winner was a nominee for this award primarily for the way he bounced back from a horrendous start to the season. The start was so bad it lasted through to the All-Star break. While Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista headed off to Cincinnati, Dickey was left to mull over an ERA that hovered around 5.00 for most of spring, a 3-10 W-L record and problems with the long ball (17 home runs) and the wild ball (44 walks). It looked like the 40-year-old’s luck had run out and even the $12M option would be far too much for his services.
However, in the second half, Dickey found some of that Mets magic and turned in a sparkling performance over the latter half. 11 of his 15 starts were quality (the 12th falling an inning short), and his knuckler was staying in the strike zone long enough to get swings. He pitched to an 8-1 record, a 2.80 ERA and saw his K/BB ratio rise from an abysmal 1.59 to 3.29 from mid-July on. The Blue Jays will be hoping for similar results to the latter half as they make their run in 2016.
Next: Honorable Mention: The Improbable Comeback