Cardinals OF Berkman earns NL comeback player award

ST. LOUIS -- Lance Berkman didn't set out to prove the skeptics wrong. He just figured that he still had good years ahead of him even after struggling through an injury-riddled 2010.

The St. Louis Cardinals outfielder made that clear in 2011 by hitting .301 with 31 home runs and 94 RBIs to win the National League comeback player award.

"It doesn't take long for people to move on to the next page, so to speak, in the game, and say, 'Well, he's lost it,' or you're never heard from again," Berkman said. "You see it happen all the time."

Boston outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury won the American League award. The honors were announced Thursday and were picked by the 30 team beat reporters from MLB.com.

Berkman was not in the lineup in Game 4 of the NL championship series Thursday night. He's gone 3 for 32 during his career against Milwaukee starter Randy Wolf.

Berkman also had a bruise on his right hip after being hit by a pitch in Wednesday's 4-3 win over Milwaukee. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said it was a good time to give him a day off.

The switch-hitter ranked in the top 10 in the NL in homers (tied for ninth), walks (fourth with 92), slugging percentage (fifth at .547) and on-base percentage (third with .412).

An injured left knee played a big role in Berkman's struggles in 2010, when the career .296 hitter batted .248 with just 14 homers and 58 RBIs in splitting time with the Astros and Yankees. Some believed that Berkman, now 35, was on the downhill side of his career.

"I wasn't thinking that I had to come back and prove people wrong," Berkman said. "That wasn't my attitude at all."

Berkman shed about 20 pounds over the winter while working with a personal trainer. He was respectable in the outfield after mostly playing first base in recent seasons. He was a key player in the Cardinals' remarkable run to the wild-card playoff spot after trailing Atlanta by 10 1/2 games in late August.

"He's just been a great player for our team," La Russa said.