Albert Pujols Won Comeback Player Of The Year....But What Did He Come Back From?

I'm not trying to take anything away from Albert Pujols here, I'm really not. But when it was announced yesterday that he won Comeback Player Of The Year I had to question it. What did he come back from? He wasn't hurt, he wasn't behind the 8 ball in anyway, he was just....old. He was terrible in the first half, hit .215 with 6 homers, 20 RBI, and an OBP of .301. He got the pity invite to the All Star Game and the Home Run Derby and it was a cool tribute to a guy who was on his way out. He rebounded in a big way in the second half of the season and ended up with some very respectable numbers in his final stretch of the season. Now I'm not one of these guys who thinks that he magically started doing steroids and got good, I think he just found it again. But that isn't why I'm here. I'm here to ask.....what did Pujols come back from?

Over in the AL, Justin Verlander won the Comeback Player Of The Year after coming back from Tommy John at the age of 39 and also won the Cy Young. That is something to be proud of, that is something that deserves recognition. Albert was just old and then got good for 3 months. I'm not so sure that was coming back from anything. I'm not exactly sure who else should have won it, Ronald Acuña Jr comes to mind? He tore his ACL in 2021 and came back to form in 2022, that deserves something? But Pujols just battling vs Father Time isn't really a winner for Comeback Player Of The Year if you ask me. I'm just confused on what he came back against, usually it's an injury, a setback, something that keeps a guy off the field. Pujols didn't have that, he only had age working against him. But congrats to Pujols I guess, just another trophy for the mantle.