Baltimore Orioles first baseman/designated hitter Trey Mancini and San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey were named the 2021 American League and National League Comeback Players of the Year by Major League Baseball Monday.
Mancini, 29, missed the 2020 season as he battled Stage 3 colon cancer. He came back to play in 147 games in 2021, batting .255 with 71 RBIs and 21 home runs. He recorded 38 multi-hit games in the process and finished second on the team in doubles with 33. The 21 home runs represented the fourth time in his career (five seasons) he exceeded 20 home runs in a season.
Posey, 34, returned to the Giants in 2021 after opting out of the 2020 season, helping the Giants finish a franchise-record and MLB-best 107-55.
The seven-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger — he won his fifth in 2021 — batted .304 with 56 RBIs, 18 home runs and 68 runs scored in 113 games.
Posey became the second ever two-time winner of the award, after previously winning the award in 2012 when he was named NL MVP following an injury-plagued 2011.
Posey announced his retirement earlier this month, after the end of the postseason.
The winners were determined by a vote from MLB.com club beat reporters.
Previous winners included Jason Giambi (New York Yankees) and Ken Griffey Jr. (Cincinnati Reds) in the award’s first year in 2005 and Salvador Perez (Kansas City Royals) and Daniel Bard (Colorado Rockies) in 2020.
–Field Level Media