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Rivera, Liriano named Comeback Players of the Year

By Matt Cowlishaw

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Oct 24, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; New York Yankees former pitcher Mariano Rivera waves to the crowd before game two of the MLB baseball World Series between the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Jared Wickerham/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports
Oct 24, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; New York Yankees former pitcher Mariano Rivera waves to the crowd before game two of the MLB baseball World Series between the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Jared Wickerham/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports /

Major League Baseball announced Monday night that Francisco Liriano and Mariano Rivera are the 2013 Comeback Players of the Year.

Liriano was one of the anchors of a very solid Pittsburgh Pirates starting staff.  The left hander went 16-8 in 26 starts and posted a 3.02 ERA with 163 strikeouts and 63 walks in 161 innings.

Liriano posted ERAs of 5.09 in 2011 with the Minnesota Twins, 5.34 with the Twins again in 2012 and 5.40 with the Chicago White Sox to finish out last season.

He was also the 2010 AL Comeback Player of the year after posting a 3.62 ERA with Minnesota in 191.2 innings, a year after he posted a 5.80 ERA in 136.2 innings.

Liriano becomes the first player ever to win the award twice.

Over in the American League, in what is supposedly his final season, surefire Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera adds to his long list of accolades with the Comeback Player of the Year award.

Rivera missed most of the 2012 season after tearing his knee up going for a fly ball in batting practice, but returned to old form in 2013 posting a 2.11 ERA with 44 saves – adding to his all-time leading total which now sits at 652.

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