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

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(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 MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports column ...

selected six candidates each from the American (AL) and

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

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 t ...

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 pr ...

'' 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 Bradley Thomas Lidge (born December 23, 1976) nicknamed "Lights Out" is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Lidge played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 2002–2012. He played for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phi ...

), 2010 AL (''TSN'' honored

Vladimir Guerrero Vladimir Alvino Guerrero Sr. (born February 9, 1975), nicknamed "Vlad the Impaler", is a Dominican former professional baseball player who spent 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right fielder and designated hitter. He played for ...

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

Fernando Rodney Fernando Rodney (born March 18, 1977) is a Dominican–American professional baseball pitcher for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Ta ...

), 2016 (''TSN'' honored Jose Fernandez and Mark Trumbo, MLB honored Anthony Rendon and

Rick Porcello Frederick Alfred Porcello III (born December 27, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and New York Mets. Selected by the Tigers in the 2007 MLB ...

), 2018 NL (''TSN'' honored

Matt Kemp Matthew Ryan Kemp (born September 23, 1984) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He began his professional career in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization in 2003, and played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Dodgers fr ...

, MLB honored

Jonny Venters Jonathan William Venters (born March 20, 1985) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals. Career Minor leagues Venters was ...

), 2019 AL (''TSN'' honored Hunter Pence, MLB honored Carlos Carrasco), and 2020 AL (''TSN'' honored Carrasco, MLB honored

Salvador Pérez Salvador Johan Pérez Diaz (born May 10, 1990), nicknamed "Salvy", is a Venezuelan-American professional baseball catcher for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is a seven-time MLB All-Star, five-time Gold Glove Award wi ...

). 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 corner infielder and designated hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 22 seasons (1991–2012). He played for six different teams during the ...

Nomar Garciaparra Anthony Nomar Garciaparra (; born July 23, 1973) is an American retired 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 Clifton Phifer Lee (born August 30, 1978) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher who played for 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Between 2002 and 2014 he played for four teams, most notably the Philadelphia Philli ...

, 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, Hu ...

Lance Berkman William Lance Berkman (born February 10, 1976), nicknamed "Fat Elvis" and "Big Puma", is an American baseball coach and former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman, who is the current head baseball coach of the Houston Christian H ...

, Jacoby Ellsbury,

Buster Posey Gerald Dempsey "Buster" Posey III (born March 27, 1987) is an American former professional baseball catcher. Posey spent his entire twelve-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the San Francisco Giants, from 2009 until his retirement at ...

, and Mariano Rivera, with Posey also being named to the

All-MLB Team The All-MLB Team is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) honor given to 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 media ...

. 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 Carlos Felipe Peña (born May 17, 1978) is a Dominican former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, C ...

, Posey, Ellsbury, Griffey and Hill won the

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters co ...

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. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers' ...

in his first comeback season. Lee won the Cy Young Award in his winning season and Lidge won both the

Rolaids Relief Man Award The Rolaids Relief Man Award was an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given from 1976 to 2012 to the top relief pitchers of the regular season, one in the American League (AL) and one in the National League (NL). Relief pitchers enter t ...

and

Delivery Man of the Year Award Major League Baseball (MLB) annually honored its best relief pitcher with the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Year Award from 2005 through 2013. It was initially part of a sponsorship agreement between MLB and package delivery company DH ...

the same year. Rodney was also named Delivery Man of the Year in his comeback 2012 season. The most recent winners, announced in November 2022, are Albert Pujols from the NL and

Justin Verlander Justin Brooks Verlander ( ; born February 20, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros. From Manakin-Sabot, ...

from 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