Two players that suffered pretty serious injuries in 2014 came back in 2015 looking to prove doubters wrong. New York Mets ace Matt Harvey and Texas Rangers slugger Prince Fielder have been named the 2015 MLB comeback players of the year. Prince Fielder has won the award for the American League, Harvey won for the National League.
Following from the Associated Press courtesy of ESPN.com.
Mets pitcher Matt Harvey has won the National League Comeback Player of the Year award, and Rangers designated hitter Prince Fielder has earned the AL honor.
Matt Harvey returned from Tommy John surgery which caused him to miss the 2014 season. In 2015 he made starts, posted a 13-8 with a 2.71 ERA with 188 strikeouts and a 1.02 Whip. Harvey was the ace of a pitching staff that helped the New York reach the World Series for the first time since 2000. The Mets also won the NL East division crown for the first time since 2006.
“I think it’s great,” he said. “As a starting pitcher and being a younger guy, I think getting to that 200-innings limit is something you always look for. You kind of want to be a horse and go out there. You look at guys who have thrown 230 innings year after year after year. That’s who I’ve always wanted to be.
“Leading into the season, you don’t know what to expect. Obviously going from zero innings, I couldn’t be happier. I think the best thing and the most positive thing is how I feel after the 200-inning mark, and quite honestly, it’s probably better than I did at the 100 mark. For me, the season was obviously an extreme success, just being healthy, playing, going out there every fifth day or whenever it was and being healthy and being where we are now. I don’t think anybody’s happier at that than I am.”
The power hitter, Prince Fielder, hit .305 with 23 homers and 98 RBIs with an .841 OPS in 158 games played for Texas. He played in only 42 games in 2014, when his season ended abruptly in mid-May because of a herniated neck disk that needed surgery. which won the AL West for the first time since 2011.
“It’s really awesome,” Fielder said on MLB Network after the winners were revealed. “It was a lot of hard work to get back and be able to play. … I kind of felt I’d be confident to at least be able to play. But I didn’t know how I’d play.”
Major League Baseball announced the winners Thursday. The awards, which began in 2005, are voted on by the 30 team beat writers from MLB.com.
