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Texas Rangers DH Prince Fielder has been named the AL Comeback Player of the Year for 2015 after an excellent season while the New York Mets Matt Harvey won the same award for the NL.
In 2014, Fielder only played in 42 games until he was required to undergo season-ending surgery on his neck. After long road back, the 31-year-old helped propel the Rangers into an AL West title in part because of his .305/.378/.463 batting line with 23 HR and 98 RBI.
The 2015 MLB Comeback Players of the Year are @RealPFielder28 of the Texas Rangers and @MattHarvey33 of the New York Mets.
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) November 5, 2015
It was a nerve-racking season for fantasy owners because they didn’t know what they were going to get for an entire season. Fielder exceeded all expectations and was as effective as he’s been throughout his 11-year career.
"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."
Fielder now has the opportunity to stay off the field and do most of his damage at the plate as Texas’s DH for years to come. This is good news for the Rangers because the slugger is signed through 2020 at $24 million per year.
One player that could have potentially taken the award from Fielder was Alex Rodriguez. The New York Yankees DH missed all of 2014 due to a performance-enhancement related suspension. Rodriguez exceeded expectation as the 40-year-old delivered 33 HR with 86 RBI and a .250 BA. The suspension could have been one reason that Fielder won the award since he was actually hurt and not suspended or possibly because the voters thought Fielder had the better year.
Harvey won the NL Comeback Player of the Year after he missed the entire 2014 season following Tommy John surgery during the 2013 campaign. The right-hander pitched in the final game of the World Series. After throwing eight shutout innings, he came out for the complete game but failed to close the door on the Kansas City Royals and left with a no-decision.
Despite not winning the World Series, Harvey had a solid return this season. The 26-year-old had a 13-8 record with a 2.71 ERA and pitched four times in the postseason.
Harvey was happy that he was able to remain healthy throughout the course of 200-plus innings pitched in 2015. After a long season of controversy on how many innings he should pitch during his return from the elbow surgery, he was able pitch all the way into November.
"I think it's great," Harvey told MLB.com prior to his Game 5 World Series start. "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.”
Harvey is arbitration eligible for 2016, which means he’ll receive a raise from his $600 million salary. It’s still not going to be the money he’s going to want on the market when he has the chance to be a free agent. There’s also the possibility that the Mets would trade Harvey after a controversial season over his innings limit or whether or not he’d be shut down. New York has a ton of pitching and Harvey could be the one that leaves.
