Hill, Carpenter top MLB comebacks in 2009
Last Updated: Monday, October 5, 2009 | 6:22 PM ET
CBC Sports
Toronto second baseman Aaron Hill on Monday was named the American League comeback player of the year for 2009. (Darren Calabrese/Canadian Press)Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Aaron Hill and St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Chris Carpenter were named Major League Baseball's 2009 comeback players of the year on Monday.
Hill got the nod for the American League with his career year playing for the Blue Jays. The 27-year-old notched 36 home runs, 108 runs batted in, 195 hits and 103 runs on the way to an all-star appearance.
The 36 homers set a team record for the most by a second baseman and the third highest in AL history. Alfonso Soriano hit 39 in 2002 and 38 in 2003 for the record.
"I think the coolest one is the home runs," Hill said in a conference call on Monday. "I feel like I can get better in all categories; I'm not going to cut myself short there."
Hill missed the 2008 season with the exception of 55 games because of a concussion and related issues after he collided with then teammate David Eckstein during a game.
"The most difficult thing was that there was no answer," said Hill. "With any other injury, they can say … [recovery will take] 2-4 weeks or 4-6 weeks or whatever it may be. There was never an answer for the concussion."
Carpenter captured the National League honours by going 17-4 with a 2.24 ERA over 28 starts.
The right-hander, who began his career with the Blue Jays, made only four starts over the previous two campaigns because of elbow and shoulder problems.
Carpenter, the 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner, also posted a big-league-best 11-game win streak from July 5 to Sept. 7.
With files from The Canadian Press
