Major League Baseball gave out some hardware today, and the ‘Comeback Players’ of the Year were named. A special congratulations to the Cardinals’ Chris Carpenter — who pretty much missed two years and just flat out dominated on the mound in the National League — and the Jays’ Aaron Hill, who seemingly came out of nowhere to rake at the plate in 2009.
NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Carpenter has been voted NL comeback player of the year and Aaron Hill has won the AL award.
Limited to four starts over the prior two seasons because of elbow surgery and a shoulder injury, Carpenter was 17-4 with a league-leading 2.24 ERA for the St. Louis Cardinals. The 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner, Carpenter won 11 consecutive decisions from early July to early September.
Hill appeared in just 55 games in 2008 due to a concussion. He hit .286 for the Toronto Blue Jays this year and established career highs with 36 homers and 108 RBIs, the most among major league second basemen.
The awards were voted on by the 30 beat writers of MLB.com.
