Written by Liam McGuire at Bloguin
New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey and Texas Rangers designated hitter Prince Fielder were announced as the 2015 NL and AL Comeback Player of the Year award winners today by the MLB.
On the surface, Harvey and Fielder both had decent years, but were they really worthy of the award? Harvey missed all of 2014 following Tommy John surgery and returned to start 29 games, winning 13 of them with a 2.71 ERA. Fielder, on the other hand, missed a majority of 2014 with neck surgery and because his stats were inflated by a great May, where he hit nine home runs, he finished the season with 23 home runs and a .305 average. Both certainly made great comebacks but were given the award not because they overcame anything special (players miss full seasons all the time) but because MLB doesn’t understand what the award should mean.
The award has turned into “star player gets injured, and continues to put up solid production despite missing time.” It’s why Jacoby Ellsbury, Tim Hudson, Lance Berkman, and Buster Posey have all won the award in the past. Instead, the award should be about players who despite all odds, have made it back to the show and are performing unexpectedly.
Prince Fielder, particularly, is a horrible choice for the award considering the other candidates. We’ve seen some amazing comebacks this season.
To continue reading this article, click here
