In some rare good White Sox news, Liam Hendriks has been named the comeback player of the year for the American League! He now joins Jim Thome as the only two White Sox players to win the award. The award was first introduced in 2005, and Thome won the second-ever award given out. It has been 17 years since a White Sox player has won this award, which could be a good and a bad thing.
This is an extremely well-deserved reward, as Hendriks fought through so much adversity over the last year. After he was diagnosed with cancer in late December/early January, many feared that Liam had pitched his last game in the major leagues, and everyone was concerned about his livelihood.
After his diagnosis, Liam Hendriks fought extremely hard and managed to find his way onto the major league field less than seven months after being diagnosed with cancer. This is an insane feat, one that not many people could ever do.
Unfortunately, this season wouldn’t turn out great, as after a few games after making his highly anticipated return, he went on the injury list with a mysterious arm injury, one he did not return from. It was later reported that he needed Tommy John surgery, which would end his 2023 comeback and would likely keep him out of the entire 2024 season.
When he did pitch, he was still throwing relatively hard, especially when you consider everything that he just went through. He looked pretty solid in the five games he played, obviously nowhere near his elite closer stuff, but he looked like he could easily get to that at some point later in the year. Unfortunately, we were not able to see that due to his injury.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of the injury he sustained, the White Sox did not pick up his option for this upcoming season, but I am very certain that some other team, likely in the hunt for the World Series, will sign him in hopes that he will return without any issue in 2025. He is a tough guy and one who knows how to work through adversity, so don't be surprised if you see him late in 2024.
This is an amazing award, and glad to see that he got the recognition that he deserves after coming back after such a terrifying diagnosis. Congratulations, Liam! We wish you the best of luck wherever you sign your next contract!
