After returning from a bout with cancer to pitch for the White Sox in 2023, closer Liam Hendriks was given the Players Choice Award for American League Comeback Player of the Year Thursday.
Hendriks, 34, appeared in five games after battling non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He began treatment in January, completed treatment and was cancer free in April. After going 2-1 with one save while allowing three runs in five innings, Hendriks had Tommy John surgery in August.
The Major League Baseball Players Association votes for awards in each league.
Hendriks, who traveled with the team through the end of the season, was the Sox nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award for a third consecutive year. He helped raise nearly $130,000 for lymphoma research through the sale of “Close Out Cancer” shirts and visited with cancer patients and their families throughout the regular season.
The Sox have a $15 million option on Hendriks for next season with a $15 million buyout to be paid in 10 annual installments of $1.5 million from 2024-33. Following surgery, he would not be ready to pitch until later in the season.
