Comeback Player of the Year Award, Players Choice variation, on Baseball Almanac

Comeback Player of the Year Award

Since 1992, every player belonging to the Major League Baseball Players Association has been allowed to cast a vote on various categories in an effort to determine each year's winners of the Players Choice Awards.

The award titles have changed nearly every year since its inception, but the cause is the same as proceeds from the Players Choice Awards are used to benefit the Players Trust for Children. Baseball Almanac is pleased to present a comprehensive breakdown of every Comeback Player of the Year Award recipient.

"It means a lot knowing the players voted for this (Players Choice Award). It's important because sometimes the media is very biased about who they like and who they don't like. The players give you an honest opinion." - Frank Thomas on ESPN2 (1993, Players Choice Awards, Live Speech)

Comeback Player of the Year Award In Chronological Order
Year	Name(s)	Lg	Team	Position
1997	David Justice⁽¹⁾	AL	Cleveland Indians	OF/DH
1997	Darren Daulton⁽¹⁾	NL	Philadelphia / Florida	OF
1998	Eric Davis⁽¹⁾	AL	Baltimore Orioles	OF/DH
1998	Greg Vaughn⁽¹⁾	NL	San Diego Padres	OF
1999	John Jaha⁽¹⁾	AL	Oakland Athletics	DH
1999	Alex Fernandez⁽¹⁾	NL	Florida Marlins	P
2000	Frank Thomas⁽¹⁾	AL	Chicago White Sox	DH
2000	Andres Galarraga⁽¹⁾	NL	Atlanta Braves	1B
2001	Ruben Sierra⁽¹⁾	AL	Texas Rangers	OF
2001	Matt Morris⁽¹⁾	NL	St. Louis Cardinals	P
2002	Tim Salmon⁽¹⁾	AL	Anaheim Angels	OF
	Mike Lieberthal⁽¹⁾	NL	Philadelphia Phillies	C
	John Smoltz⁽¹⁾	NL	Atlanta Braves	P
2003	Esteban Loaiza⁽¹⁾	AL	Chicago White Sox	P
2003	Rod Beck⁽¹⁾	NL	San Diego Padres	P
2004	Orlando Hernandez⁽¹⁾	AL	New York Yankees	P
2004	Chris Carpenter⁽¹⁾	NL	St. Louis Cardinals	P
2005	Jason Giambi⁽¹⁾	AL	New York Yankees	1B/DH
2005	Ken Griffey, Jr.⁽¹⁾	NL	Cincinnati Reds	OF
2006	Frank Thomas⁽²⁾	AL	Oakland Athletics	DH
2006	Nomar Garciaparra⁽¹⁾	NL	Los Angeles Dodgers	1B
2007	Carlos Pena⁽¹⁾	AL	Tampa Bay Devil Rays	1B
2007	Dmitri Young⁽¹⁾	NL	Washington Nationals	1B
2008	Cliff Lee⁽¹⁾	AL	Cleveland Indians	P
2008	Fernando Tatis⁽¹⁾	NL	New York Mets	OF
2009	Aaron Hill⁽¹⁾	AL	Toronto Blue Jays	2B
2009	Chris Carpenter⁽¹⁾	NL	St. Louis Cardinals	P
2010	Vladimir Guerrero⁽¹⁾	AL	Texas Rangers	DH
2010	Tim Hudson⁽¹⁾	NL	Atlanta Braves	P
2011	Jacoby Ellsbury⁽¹⁾	AL	Boston Red Sox	OF
2011	Lance Berkman⁽¹⁾	NL	St. Louis Cardinals	OF/1B
2012	Adam Dunn⁽¹⁾	AL	Chicago White Sox	DH
2012	Buster Posey⁽¹⁾	NL	San Francisco Giants	C
2013	Not Yet Announced^(11-2013)	AL	--	--
2013	Not Yet Announced^(11-2013)	NL	--	--
Year	Name(s)	Lg	Team	Position
Comeback Player of the Year Award

Do you agree or disagree with the Comeback Player of the Year Award selections made by the Major League Baseball Players Association? Would you have chosen differently? Share your opinion on our current events forum.

Did you know that the Players Choice Awards (click link to see them all on the same page) also includes awards for Outstanding Player of the Year and Outstanding Rookie of the Year?

The first player to ever win a Comeback Player of the Year Award twice - Frank Thomas (2000, AL / Chicago White Sox & 2006, AL / Oakland Athletics).

Follow @BaseballAlmanac

Tweet #TwitterStories

Tweet to @BaseballAlmanac

Copyright © 2000-2013. All Rights Reserved by Baseball-Almanac. Privacy Policy.Design by Geisler Young. Web hosting by Hosting 4 Less.
Part of the Baseball Almanac family: 755 Home Runs | Baseball Box Scores | Baseball Fever | Football Almanac | Pigskin Fever | Today in Baseball History.