Cody Bellinger wins National League Comeback Player of the Year award
Cody Bellinger wins National League Comeback Player of the Year award originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Chicago Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger has added a bit of hardware to his trophy case, earning National League Comeback Player of the Year honors as part of the 2023 Players’ Choice Awards.
In his first season with the Cubs, Bellinger came back from three subpar seasons with a stellar effort in 2023, socking 26 home runs and driving in 97 RBI’s as he helped the North Siders remain in the playoff hunt throughout the second half of the campaign.
All of those numbers were his highest since he won the National League MVP award with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019.
Back with a vengeance. Cody Bellinger took the @Cubs lineup by storm, jumping to a .307 batting average, .525 slugging and .881 OPS – all his highest marks since his 2019 NL MVP season. Congrats, Cody, on being voted 2023 #PlayersChoiceAwards NL Comeback Player! pic.twitter.com/vgsXU0EbyW
— MLBPA (@MLBPA) November 2, 2023
“This whole last offseason, I wanted to prepare myself as best I could, and go out and play the game of baseball that I knew I could,” he said. “I’m glad I was able to go out and show it, both for myself and for my family. I learned a lot this year.”
The video published by the Players’ Association featured some former teammates of Bellinger and also featured Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani, New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, and American League Comeback Player of the Year Liam Hendriks, who captured the award after battling cancer and missing the first two months of the 2023 season.
Bellinger is expected to opt out of his contract with the Cubs and become a free agent in coming days, with numerous teams, including Chicago, vying for his services on the market.
