Prince Fielder Wins AL Comeback Player at 2015 Players Choice Awards

The MLB Players Association announced Texas Rangers designated hitter Prince Fielder was named the 2015 American League Comeback Player at the Players Choice Awards Monday.

Fielder led the Rangers to their first American League West title since 2011, batting .305 with 23 home runs and 98 RBI in 158 games one year after a herniated disc cut his first season in Texas short at 42 games. 

MLB tweeted its congratulations shortly after the announcement:

The MLB Players Association has annually handed out Outstanding Player, Outstanding Rookie, Outstanding Pitcher and Comeback Player awards in each league since 1992, according to the MLBPA.

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.

Fielder had missed just one game in the five previous years during stints with the Milwaukee Brewers and Detroit Tigers, who traded him prior to the 2014 season.

Monday's award was Fielder's third in the category. He was named the Comeback Player of the Year by MLB, determined by its 30 MLB.com club beat writers, and by his peers through the Sporting News rendition of the award, receiving 112 of the 156 votes submitted by select AL players. 

First-year Rangers manager Jeff Banister, hired in October 2014, was along for Fielder’s rehab and spoke of the designated hitter’s determination, per Justin McGuire of Sporting News:

"

Really, to be able to get himself to where he is today, it cost him a lot, if you think about it. The hard work, the time, effort, passion for the game.

Even through rehab and extensive rehab, there's uncertainty. Even when you start back up there's still the uncertainty. There's a lot of want-to, but you've got to learn how to again. 

"

The Rangers were a win away from eliminating the World Series favorite Blue Jays in the American League Division Series, but no one expected them to even make it that far. They entered the season with the seventh-worst odds to win the title, per Odds Shark, and winning the AL West over the Houston Astros in the final month showed an overall team resolve aligned with Fielder.  

The Rangers enter 2016 far ahead of schedule and should contend for another division title—especially if they can get another sound season from Fielder.