By Miguel Rapetti
Nov 28, 2023, 9:43 PM EST
Infielder Cody Bellinger, who played the previous season with the Chicago Cubs, managed to win the Comeback Player of the Year award in the National League this Tuesday, all of this amid rumors that link him to signing with the New York Yankees.
Bellinger added the recognition after reviving his career in the Chicago Cubs, where he ended up being a protagonist and averaging .307 with 95 runs scored, 97 RBIs and 26 home runs in 130 games in which he participated in 2023.
His performance was recognized this year especially for the disappointing campaigns he accumulated with the Los Angeles Dodgers between 2021 and 2022 and for which he was later released by the Californian currency.
Between both campaigns, Bellinger regularly battled several injuries that caused him to hit .193, a product of 103 hits (29 HRs), 104 RBIs and 244 strikeouts, in 239 games.
However, the resurgence in 2023 with his new team and in the last year of his contract before trying his luck in Major League free agency, also made him worthy of his second Silver Slugger in the Major Leagues, after the that he achieved in 2019.
Precisely that 2019 was the campaign in which he confirmed his leadership by winning the National League Most Valuable Player award as a result of his batting (.305 average), RBIs (115) and 121 runs scored.
Also in 2017 he was the National League Rookie of the Year and three years later he added his first World Series.
Bellinger is one of the Yankees’ main targets
The successful campaign of first baseman Bellinger has made him one of the desirable pieces for the New York Yankees, hoping to reinforce an offense that was among the last places in the 30 teams of the Major Leagues.
According to rumors from some specialized journalists, Bellinger would be among the names such as Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani and the Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
If Bellinger’s signing with the Yankees is completed, this would be his third major league title after the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs.
Liam Hendriks and his emotional story earned him the Comeback Player of the Year award in the American League
The closer of the Chicago White Sox and who is in Major League free agency, Liam Hendricks, was the winner of the award in the American League thanks to an emotional story that infected all fans.
Hendriks returned to baseball a year after being diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma, for which it was thought that the result could be fatal, but despite this the arm completed its chemotherapy sessions and was able to return to baseball.
This season he returned on May 29 and in total Hendriks pitched five innings, striking out three and allowing three runs before having to undergo surgery for Tommy John surgery.
The Comeback Player of the Year honor has been awarded each year in the Major Leagues since 2005 and recognizes a player from each league who has reemerged on the field after a previous season of difficulties.