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Jose Fernandez's peers voted him NL Comeback Player of the Year

Mark Townsend
Yahoo Sports Contributor

The legacy of Jose Fernandez was further cemented on Wednesday after the Miami Marlins pitcher was posthumously named the National League Comeback Player of the Year at the MLB Players Choice Awards.

Fernandez was selected by his peers, who cast their votes before his untimely death in a boating accident off Miami Beach on Sept 25.

In the American League, Baltimore Orioles slugger Mark Trumbo was voted Comeback Player of the Year by the players.

Fernandez earned the accolade by posting stellar numbers in his first full season following Tommy John surgery. Fernandez went 16-8 with a 2.86 ERA and 253 strikeouts over 29 starts. Sadly, he may have saved his best start for last, tossing eight shutout innings and striking out 12 in a Marlins 1-0 win against the Washington Nationals on Sept. 19.

Jose Fernandez's peers voted him National League Comeback Player of the Year. (AP)
Jose Fernandez’s peers voted him National League Comeback Player of the Year. (AP)

The announcement during the MLB Network broadcast of the 25th annual Players Choice Awards opened up a flood of emotions. Though the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Fernandez, 27-year-old Jesus Macias and 25-year-old Eduardo Rivero, have grown more troubling in the weeks since, the impact Fernandez had on the field and in the community has not been lost on anyone. Nor is the potential that seemed destined to make him an all-time great.

Fernandez’s win was the biggest story of the awards show. Another big winner was Jose Altuve. The Houston Astros second baseman took home three awards, including the AL’s Most Outstanding Player, the overall Player of the Year, and the Majestic Athletic Always Game Award.

Here’s a list of the other award winners:

Outstanding Player: Daniel Murphy — Washington Nationals
Outstanding Pitcher: Rick Porcello — Boston Red Sox, Kyle Hendricks — Chicago Cubs
Outstanding Rookie: Michael Fulmer — Detroit Tigers, Corey Seager — Los Angeles Dodgers
Marvin Miller Man of the Year: Curtis Granderson — New York Mets

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!