The late Jose Fernandez is voted NL comeback player of the year by his peers
Miami’s Jose Fernandez pitches against the Dodgers on Sept. 9.
Jose Fernandez was voted the National League comeback player of the year by his peers on Wednesday, less than two months after his death at age 24.
In his fourth Major League Baseball season, Fernandez was 16-8 with a 2.86 ERA and 253 strikeouts in just 182 1/3 innings. He and two friends died in a boating accident on Sept. 24.
Fernandez was the NL rookie of the year in 2013 with a 12-6 record, a 2.19 ERA and 187 strikeouts in 172 2/3 innings, and was third in NL Cy Young voting. He was 4-2 with a 2.44 ERA in 2014 but injured his elbow in May and required season-ending Tommy John surgery.
He didn’t return to the mound until the following July and finished the 2015 season with a 6-1 record and a 2.92 ERA. Last season, Fernandez returned to the All-Star game for the first time since his rookie year.
Others winners of the MLB Players Assn.’s annual Players Choice Awards this year included Washington’s Daniel Murphy (NL outstanding player), Houston’s Jose Altuve (American League outstanding player), Baltimore’s Mark Trumbo (AL comeback player), Chicago Cubs’ Kyle Hendricks (NL outstanding pitcher), Boston’s Rick Porcello (AL outstanding pitcher) and Baltimore’s Mark Trumbo (AL comeback player).
Twitter: @chewkiii
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