Willie Mac Award

The Willie Mac Award is named in honor of Willie McCovey. It has been presented annually since 1980 to the most inspirational player on the San Francisco Giants, as voted upon by Giants players, coaches, training staff, and more recently, Giants fans.[1][2] McCovey personally presented the winner with the award in a pregame ceremony at AT&T Park near the conclusion of each season until his death on October 31, 2018.

Willie McCovey (44), for whom the award was named.

Winners
YearPlayerPosition
1980Jack ClarkRF
1981Larry HerndonLF
1982Joe Morgan2B
1983Darrell Evans1B
1984Bob BrenlyC
1985Mike Krukow (1)P
1986Mike Krukow (2)P
1987Chris Speier2B
1988José UribeSS
1989Dave DraveckyP
1990Steve BedrosianP
1991Robby Thompson2B
1992Mike FelderCF
1993Kirt ManwaringC
1994(not awarded due to strike)
1995Mark LeiterP
Mark Carreon1B
1996Shawon DunstonSS
1997J. T. Snow (1)1B
1998Jeff Kent2B
1999Marvin BenardCF
2000Ellis BurksRF[3]
2001Mark GardnerP[4]
Benito SantiagoC[4]
2002David Bell3B
2003Marquis GrissomCF
2004J. T. Snow (2)1B
2005Mike MathenyC[5]
2006Omar VizquelSS
2007Bengie Molina (1)C[6]
2008Bengie Molina (2)C[7]
2009Matt CainP[8]
2010Andrés TorresCF[9]
2011Ryan VogelsongP[10]
2012Buster PoseyC[11]
2013Hunter PenceRF[12]
2014Madison BumgarnerP[13]
2015Matt Duffy3B[14]
2016Javier LópezP[15]
Brandon CrawfordSS[15]
2017Nick HundleyC[16]
2018Will SmithP[17]
2019 Kevin Pillar CF[18]

Plaques with the names of each winner are placed in the ground surrounding the statue of Willie McCovey on the southern shore of China Basin, unofficially known as McCovey Cove.

Matt Duffy was the first rookie winner of the award.

Similar MLB awards involving Giants players

The Hutch Award is for the "active player who best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire to win". Only Omar Vizquel and Dave Dravecky have won both the Willie Mac Award and the Hutch Award, although Willie McCovey won the Hutch Award in 1977.

Vizquel was a finalist in 2007 for the MLBPAA Heart & Hustle Award, which honors the player who "best embodies the values, spirit and tradition of the game".

See also

References
  1. Willie Mac Award sfgiants.com
  2. "Ryan Vogelsong selected 2011 "Willie Mac" Award winner" (Press release). SFGiants.com. September 9, 2011.
  3. Schulman, Henry (September 22, 2000). Honors Burks With Willie Mac Award. sfgate.com.
  4. Schulman, Henry (October 6, 2001). Gardner, Santiago share 2001 Willie Mac Award. sfgate.com
  5. Draper, Rich (September 30, 2005). Matheny wins Willie Mac Award. sfgiants.com.
  6. Regan, Becky (September 21, 2007). Molina wins 'Willie Mac' Award. sfgiants.com.
  7. Haft, Chris (September 26, 2008). Molina repeats as 'Willie Mac' winner. sfgiants.com.
  8. Haft, Chris (September 25, 2009). Cain wins Giants' Willie Mac Award. sfgiants.com.
  9. "Andres Torres selected 2010 'Willie Mac' Award winner | SFGiants.com: Official Info". Sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com. June 19, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  10. Haft, Chris (September 10, 2011). "Vogelsong voted Willie Mac Award winner". MLB.com.
  11. "Buster Posey is Giants' Willie Mac Award winner". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  12. "Hunter Pence named 2013 "Willie Mac" Award winner". San Francisco Giants. MLB. September 27, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  13. "Bumgarner wins Willie Mac Award". AP. September 26, 2014.
  14. Pavlovic, Alex (October 2, 2015). "Rookie Matt Duffy wins 2015 Willie Mac Award". CSN Bay Area. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  15. Baggarly, Andrew (September 30, 2016). "A tie for Willie Mac Award: Giants split honor between Brandon Crawford, Javier Lopez". Bay Area News Group.
  16. "Giants Catcher Nick Hundley Wins Prestigious Willie Mac Award". nbcbayarea.com. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  17. "Giants' Willie Mac Award surprise: Reliever Will Smith". sfchronicle.com. September 29, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  18. "Outfielder Kevin Pillar wins Giants' Willie Mac Award after beginning year with Blue Jays". The Mercury News. September 28, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
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