Mike Moustakas wins comeback player award, donates money in Yordano Ventura’s memory
On the heels of a record-breaking season, Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas collected another award on Wednesday, winning American League comeback player of the year during the Players Choice Awards show on MLB Network.
Moustakas, who became a free agent for the first time earlier this month, previously was voted the The Sporting News’ American League comeback player of the year.
The Players Choice Awards are connected with the Major League Baseball Players Trust, a charitable foundation created by Major League players. After claiming the award, Moustakas planned to designate his grant money to the ACE 30 Memorial Fund, a charity created to honor former Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura. The ACE 30 Memorial Fund was designed to support youth baseball projects in the Dominican Republic.
Moustakas, 29, made history in 2017, clubbing 38 homers and breaking the franchise record of 36 set by Steve Balboni in 1985.
The performance came one year after he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in a collision with Alex Gordon in Chicago. Moustakas tied for fifth in the American League in home runs this season and also set career highs with 75 runs, 85 RBIs and a .521 slugging percentage. He finished with 2.6 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference.
Rustin Dodd: 816-234-4937, @rustindodd. Download True Blue, The Star’s free Royals app.
This story was originally published November 8, 2017 at 8:37 PM with the headline "Mike Moustakas wins comeback player award, donates money in Yordano Ventura’s memory."