Hendriks recovered from cancer while Bellinger returned to a talent level more resembling his old self
• 1 min read
Major League Baseball announced on Tuesday night the winners of the 2023 Comeback Player of the Year Awards. Free-agent reliever Liam Hendriks, most recently of the Chicago White Sox, earned the American League honors; meanwhile, free-agent outfielder Cody Bellinger was named the National League recipient after a resurgent season with the Chicago Cubs.
The Comeback Player of the Year Awards have been presented annually since 2005 to “one player in each league who has re-emerged on the field during the season.” The voting is conducted by the 30 team beat writers for MLB.com. Here are the previous winners of the Award, by league and by year:
| Year | American League | National League |
|---|---|---|
|
2005 |
Jason Giambi, NYY |
Ken Griffey Jr., CIN |
|
2006 |
Jim Thome, CWS |
Nomar Garciaparra, LAD |
|
2007 |
Carlos Peña, TB |
Dmitri Young, WSH |
|
2008 |
Cliff Lee, CLE |
Brad Lidge, PHI |
|
2009 |
Aaron Hill, TOR |
Chris Carpenter, STL |
|
2010 |
Francisco Liriano, MIN |
Tim Hudson, ATL |
|
2011 |
Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS |
Lance Berkman, STL |
|
2012 |
Fernando Rodney, TB |
Buster Posey, SF |
|
2013 |
Mariano Rivera, NYY |
Francisco Liriano, PIT |
|
2014 |
Chris Young, SEA |
Casey McGehee, MIA |
|
2015 |
Prince Fielder, TEX |
Matt Harvey, NYM |
|
2016 |
Rick Porcello, BOS |
Anthony Rendon, WSH |
|
2017 |
Mike Moustakas, KC |
Greg Holland, COL |
|
2018 |
David Price, BOS |
Jonny Venters, ATL |
|
2019 |
Carlos Carrasco, CLE |
Josh Donaldson, ATL |
|
2020 |
Salvador Perez, KC |
Daniel Bard, COL |
|
2021 |
Trey Mancini, BAL |
Buster Posey, SF |
|
2022 |
Justin Verlander, HOU |
Albert Pujols, STL |
Hendriks, 34, appeared in only five games this season before succumbing to Tommy John surgery. Nevertheless, those five games represented a step forward, as he had announced in January that he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Hendriks missed the onset of the season, debuting on May 29 with a single inning against the Los Angeles Angels.
Bellinger, 28, had experienced tough times since winning the 2019 Most Valuable Player Award. From 2021-22, he batted .193/.256/.355 (66 OPS+) in 239 games. The Dodgers non-tendered him last offseason, resulting in him joining the Cubs on a one-year pact. He enjoyed a resurgent campaign, batting .307/.356/.525 (133 OPS+) with 26 home runs in 130 games.
