White Sox’s Liam Hendriks Wins AL Comeback Player of the Year

Hendriks returned to the mound in May after announcing he’d been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in January.

White Sox closer Liam Hendriks was named MLB’s 2023 American League Comeback Player of the Year on Tuesday, following his triumphant return to the mound after a battle with cancer.

Hendriks revealed in January that he’d been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. After receiving treatment, he was able to return to the mound and make his season debut in late May.

The 34-year-old made just five relief appearances for Chicago in 2023, as his season was cut short by an elbow injury he sustained in June, for which he eventually underwent season-ending surgery in August.

Liam Hendriks is the American League Comeback Player of the Year! pic.twitter.com/WoocYn5jjP

— MLB (@MLB) November 28, 2023

Hendriks pitched five innings last season in his return from cancer, registering a 2-0 record with a 5.40 ERA and three strikeouts. 

Earlier in November, Hendriks had been named the 2023 Players Choice Awards’ Comeback Player of the Year, which is voted for by players in MLB. Now he’s taking home the league’s official award, too.

Hendriks is the first White Sox player to win the award since Jim Thome in 2006 and the first AL reliever to win it since Mariano Rivera in 2013. 

From the National League, Cubs slugger Cody Bellinger was named the Comeback Player of the Year, becoming the franchise’s first winner since the award’s inception in 2005.