News
Peers vote Hill AL Comeback Player of Year
Second baseman rebounded from serious concussion in '09
By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com
10/27/09 1:56 PM ET
TORONTO -- Aaron Hill was named the American League's Comeback Player of the Year on Tuesday as part of the 2009 Players Choice Awards. The second baseman earned the same honor in voting by MLB.com reporters earlier this month.Hill -- one of three finalists for the Players Choice honor, along with Scott Podsednik of the White Sox and Russell Branyan of the Mariners -- was limited to only 55 games in 2008 after being sidelined with a serious concussion. This past season he rebounded from that serious setback in a big way, emerging as one of the elite second basemen in the game.
"I really did want to prove everybody ... not wrong, but just know that I could be back and I'm fine," Hill said earlier this month. "That was the main goal. That was really the only goal this year."
Over 158 games this season for the Blue Jays, Hill finished with a .286 average, 36 home runs, 37 doubles and 108 RBIs. He also ended with 195 hits, 103 runs scored and 340 total bases along the way. Among Major League second basemen, he ranked first in home runs, RBIs, total bases and at-bats (682).
On June 28, against the Phillies, Hill belted two home runs to give him 19 on the season, establishing a new single-season club record for long balls by a second baseman with three months to play. When it was all said and done, Hill's 36 homers and 108 RBIs set franchise marks for single-season production by a middle infielder.
Hill's home run total -- the third-highest all-time for an AL second baseman -- was also the most in one season for a player at his position since Alfonso Soriano clubbed 38 for the Yankees in 2003. The 108 RBIs that Hill collected were the most in one campaign by a second baseman since Bret Boone's 117 with the Mariners in '03.
For his efforts, Hill was named to his first All-Star team this season and started at second baseman after Boston's Dustin Pedroia was unable to participate.
On May 29 of last year, Hill was chasing a fly ball in shallow center field in Oakland when he collided with former Jays shortstop David Eckstein. Hill -- struck on the side of the head by Eckstein's right elbow -- missed the rest of the season and was plagued for months by headaches, sleepless nights and dizzy spells.
"Sometimes people don't come back from concussions," manager Cito Gaston said earlier this year. "That certainly was a worry on our part -- his, too."
Hill pushed aside those concerns with his performance on the field in 2009.
Players Choice Awards annually recognize the best player, pitcher, rookie and comeback player in each league. The Player of the Year and Marvin Miller Man of the Year awards bestow top honors without regard to league. Balloting of all Major League players for the Players Choice Awards was conducted in September.
Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
