Panda Is Giants Nominee for Aaron Award

2011 wasn't a great offensive year for the Giants, and that's the team's biggest problem heading into the offseason.

But we can still look back at Pablo Sandoval's resurgent season last year and smile, plus hope that he ends up winning the Hank Aaron Award.

As it stands, he's the Giants nominee for the Aaron Award, which recognizes the best offensive player in both the National and American Leagues. (Fans can vote at MLB.com soon for the winner, with one player nominated from each team.)

"When you're working hard in the offseason, everything's going to pay off," Sandoval said, via Chris Haft of MLB.com.

Sandoval was, without question, the best offensive player for the Giants, leading the team in home runs (23), RBI (70), batting average (.315), and slugging percentage (.552).

The most impressive stat of Sandoval's 2011 season, though, was number of pounds lost in the offseason: 40.

Sandoval shocked everyone with his hard work in the offseason, after a down 2010, and there's little question that it helped lead to his resurgent year.

"Watching him get back to who he is and who he wants to be is a lot of fun for all of us," Tim Lincecum said.

And, of course, all of this came with Sandoval still missing some time -- he lost 40 regular-season games as a result of a trip to the disabled list.

That he still managed to lead the Giants in every major offensive category is pretty impressive.

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