Nick Hundley named 2017 "Willie Mac" Award winner
San Francisco, Calif. - San Francisco Giants catcher Nick Hundley was selected as the winner of the 2017 "Willie Mac" Award, the club announced today.
The Willie McCovey Award is an annual honor bestowed upon the most inspirational player on the team, as voted upon by Giants players, coaches, training staff, clubhouse staff, the fans and Willie McCovey himself. This season marks the 37th anniversary of the award, which was established in 1980, in honor of legend and Hall of Famer Willie McCovey. Engraved on the plaque that Hundley will receive are the words "Competitive Spirit, Ability and Leadership" to characterize the qualities both McCovey and Hundley exemplify.
Hundley has been solid during his first year in a Giants uniform, hitting .246 with nine home runs and 34 RBI while appearing in 99 games (63 starts at catcher). He has provided much needed power for the club, with 32 of his 69 hits this season having come for extra-bases. Hundley is just the eighth player to win the "Willie Mac Award" in his first year with the Giants, joining Mark Leiter, Shawon Dunston, Benito Santiago, David Bell, Marquis Grissom, Mike Matheny and Bengie Molina.
Listed below are the "Willie Mac Award" winners:
1980 Jack Clark
1981 Larry Herndon
1982 Joe Morgan
1983 Darrell Evans
1984 Bob Brenly
1985 Mike Krukow
1986 Mike Krukow
1987 Chris Speier
1988 Jose Uribe
1989 Dave Dravecky
1990 Steve Bedrosian
1991 Robby Thompson
1992 Mike Felder
1993 Kirt Manwaring
1994 None
1995 Mark Leiter
Mark Carreon
1996 Shawon Dunston
1997 J.T. Snow
1998 Jeff Kent
1999 Marvin Benard
2000 Ellis Burks
2001 Mark Gardner
Benito Santiago
2002 David Bell
2003 Marquis Grissom
2004 J.T. Snow
2005 Mike Matheny
2006 Omar Vizquel
2007 Bengie Molina
2008 Bengie Molina
2009 Matt Cain
2010 Andres Torres
2011 Ryan Vogelsong
2012 Buster Posey
2013 Hunter Pence
2014 Madison Bumgarner
2015 Matt Duffy
2016 Brandon Crawford
Javier Lopez
2017 Nick Hundley