More MLB awards were announced yesterday, with Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Chris Young and Miami Marlins third baseman Casey McGehee taking home 2014 Comeback Player of the Year honors.
The 2014 MLB Comeback Players of the Year didn’t play in MLB at all in 2013. Seattle Mariners starter Chris Young missed the entire season with injury, which had become a common refrain in the now-35-year-old’s career, and Miami Marlins third baseman Casey McGehee was playing in Japan, with his formerly-promising career appearing to be over, at least stateside. But both players were surprisingly solid contributors in 2014, and were named Comback Players of the Year for the AL and NL, respectively:
Casey McGehee of @Marlins (NL) & Chris Young of @Mariners (AL) named 2014 MLB Comeback Players of the Year pic.twitter.com/7DSmSWktYi
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) November 7, 2014
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Both stories are pretty surprising; McGehee was a failed
prospect who had bounced around the league as a journeyman ever since leaving the
after a disappointing 2011 season (McGehee had two decent seasons with the Brewers before that). He only hit four home runs, lower than his 2012 total of nine, but McGehee had a solid slashline off the scrap heap for the Marlins: .287/.355/.357, with his slugging percentage hurt by the low home run total (he did have 29 doubles).
Young might even be a more surprising case. He made his first appearance in 2004, and had only passed the 100 innings pitched mark five times in his career, and only once (2012) since 2008. Injuries have been the main offenders for his low innings total, but this season with the Mariners he somehow held together for 165 innings, and while it got ugly in September, when he only managed 14.2 innings in which he allowed seven home runs and 14 earned runs for an 8.59 ERA in the month, his season numbers weren’t hurt too badly (3.65 ERA on the season), but Young’s poor final month might have cost the Mariners a shot at the Wild Card game. It should be noted that Young helped get the team to the point where they were in contention, though, so don’t blame him too much.
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