The Major League Baseball Players Association announced New York Mets star pitcher Matt Harvey was named the 2015 National League Comeback Player by his peers Monday.
Harvey bounced back from missing all of 2014 while recovering from Tommy John surgery and pitched a career-high 216 innings, including the postseason, while leading his team to the World Series.
The 26-year-old beat out other finalists in Cincinnati Reds All-Star first baseman Joey Votto and Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. Players Choice Awards winners are eligible to collectively donate $260,000 to charities of each award winner’s choice through the MLB Players Trust, per the MLBPA.
Harvey compiled a 2.71 ERA in 29 regular-season starts, going 13-8 with a 1.02 WHIP and 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings. With Harvey at the helm, the Mets won the NL East over the unanimous preseason World Series favorite Washington Nationals.
Away from on-field performance, Harvey also came back from a rift between he, agent Scott Boras and Mets brass over his innings count late in the season.
Boras’ concern stemmed from the 180-inning cap set by Harvey’s surgeon, though the Mets weren’t abiding by a specific number and split starts to avoid overuse. The situation snowballed when Harvey wouldn’t take a stance on the issue as the regular season wound down and the playoffs were within reach.
The media didn’t take kindly to his approach, per Rich MacLeod of MLB.com:
Harvey eventually reconciled and went on to pitch four playoff games, including two in the World Series, with a cumulative 3.04 ERA and 1.09 WHIP.
Though the Mets must address possible departures of key offensive contributors, they should remain NL pennant contenders for the foreseeable future with their trio of high-velocity starters, with Harvey at the helm.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com