Each year, the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards hold a charity event emceed by some form of media/sports personality and hand out awards, such as the Cleveland Pro Athlete of the Year. In an event that can have over 1,000 attendees, that award has been handed out since 2000, when the awards were created. This year, there are three finalists for the award: cornerback Joe Haden of the Cleveland Browns, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera of the Cleveland Indians, and pitcher Justin Masterson, also of the Indians.
↵Haden was one of the few bright spots for the Browns in 2011, and helped the Browns to the NFL's second-ranked pass defense, allowing quarterbacks to pass for just 184.9 yards per game. He missed some time with an injury and still left a huge impression, and he's certainly deserving. Masterson went 12-10 on the season with a 3.21 earned run average and was part of an Indians team that exceeded expectations. Caberera had 25 home runs with 92 RBI and 87 runs scores, hitting .273, and made the All-Star team.
↵Last year, Josh Cribbs of the Browns won the award for his great year as a return man.
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