The Major League Baseball Comeback Player of the Year Award is presented by

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) to the player who is judged to have "re-emerged on the baseball field during a given season." The award was developed in 2005, as part of a sponsorship agreement between MLB and Viagra. In 2005 and 2006 representatives from MLB and MLB.com selected six candidates each from the American (AL) and

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

s (NL) and one winner for each league was selected via an

online poll An open-access poll is a type of opinion poll in which a nonprobability sample of participants self-select into participation. The term includes call-in, mail-in, and some online polls. The most common examples of open-access polls ask people to ...

on MLB.com. Since then, the winners have been selected by a panel of MLB beat reporters. Under the current voting structure, first place votes are worth five points, second place votes worth three, and third place votes worth one with the award going to the player with the most points overall. Past winners have often overcome injury or personal problems en route to their award-winning season. A Comeback Player of the Year Award has been given by ''

The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' since 1965 but its results are not officially recognized by Major League Baseball. Since the beginning of the MLB award in 2005, the recipients have been identical with the following exceptions: 2008 NL (''TSN'' honored Fernando Tatís, MLB honored Brad Lidge), 2010 AL (''TSN'' honored

Vladimir Guerrero Vladimir Guerrero Alvino (born February 9, 1975), nicknamed "Vlad the Impaler", is a People of the Dominican Republic, Dominican former professional baseball player who spent 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right fielder and des ...

, MLB honored Francisco Liriano), 2012 AL (''TSN'' honored

Adam Dunn Adam Troy Dunn (born November 9, 1979), nicknamed "Big Donkey", is an American former professional baseball left fielder and first baseman. He played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the Cincinnati Reds. A two-time Major L ...

, MLB honored Fernando Rodney), 2016 (''TSN'' honored Jose Fernandez and Mark Trumbo, MLB honored

Anthony Rendon Anthony Michael Rendon (, ; born June 6, 1990) is an American baseball third baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played for the Washington Nationals and was a member of the Nationals' 2019 World S ...

and Rick Porcello), 2018 NL (''TSN'' honored Matt Kemp, MLB honored Jonny Venters), 2019 AL (''TSN'' honored Hunter Pence, MLB honored Carlos Carrasco), and 2020 AL (''TSN'' honored Carrasco, MLB honored Salvador Pérez). Liriano and Posey are the only players to win the MLB award multiple times with Liriano being the first to win it in each league. Twelve players were named to the Major League Baseball All-Star team in their Comeback Award-winning season:

Jim Thome James Howard Thome (; ; born August 27, 1970) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, third baseman and designated hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 22 seasons (1991–2012). A prolific power hitter, Thome ...

Nomar Garciaparra Anthony Nomar Garciaparra (; born July 23, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball player and current SportsNet LA analyst. After playing parts of nine seasons as an All-Star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, he played shortstop, Third ...

, Dmitri Young, Cliff Lee, Brad Lidge, Aaron Hill,

Tim Hudson Timothy Adam Hudson (born July 14, 1975), nicknamed "Huddy", is an American former professional baseball pitcher of Major League Baseball (MLB). After spending his college years at Chattahoochee Valley Community College and Auburn University, H ...

, Lance Berkman,

Jacoby Ellsbury Jacoby McCabe Ellsbury ( ; born September 11, 1983) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox from 2007 through 2013 and then played for the New York Yankees from 2 ...

, Buster Posey, Fernando Rodney, and

Mariano Rivera Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian Americans, Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and " ...

, with Posey also being named to the

All-MLB Team The All-MLB Team is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) honor bestowed upon the best players across both leagues at each position during the season. Selections to the first and second teams are determined by a fan vote and a panel consisting of ...

. Two players who were not named to the All-Star team in their winning year—

Jason Giambi Jason Gilbert Giambi (; born January 8, 1971) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter. In his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, which began in 1995, Giambi played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yank ...

and Ken Griffey Jr.—were named to the All-Star team in their previous season. Several winners have won other awards in their winning season. Carlos Peña, Posey, Ellsbury, Griffey, and Hill won the

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best Batting (baseball), offensive player at each Baseball positions, position in both the American League (AL) and the National League (baseball), National League (NL), as determ ...

along with the Comeback Award. Posey won the

NL MVP The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. The award has been presented by the Baseball Writers ...

in his first comeback season. Lee won the

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...

in his winning season and Lidge won both the Rolaids Relief Man Award and Delivery Man of the Year Award the same year. Rodney was also named Delivery Man of the Year in his comeback 2012 season. The most recent winners are Chris Sale of the NL and Garrett Crochet of the AL.

American League winners

National League winners

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Major League Baseball Comeback Player Of The Year Award Comeback Player of the Year Award, MLB Awards established in 2005

American League winners

National League winners

See also

References