SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Catcher Trevor Brown was elected the 2016 Barney Nugent Award winner in a vote by his teammates, coaches and training staff earlier this morning.
The Barney Nugent Award, formerly known as the Harry K. Jordan Award, is named in honor of the Giants' former athletic trainer who worked for the Club from 1993 to 2003. This award is given in recognition of the player in his first big league camp whose performance and dedication in Spring Training best exemplifies the San Francisco Giants spirit, much like Nugent did in his time with San Francisco.
Brown, 24, has batted .324 (11-for-34) with nine RBI in 17 spring contests. He's caught 66.0 defensive innings, the most of any Giants' catcher in camp this spring. Last season, Brown was a late September call-up providing the team depth at catcher. He made his Major League debut on September 19, 2015 and started 12 of the Giants' last 17 games behind the plate. Overall, he hit .231 (9-for-39) with five RBI in 13 games (12 starts) for San Francisco.
Brown was selected by the Giants in the 10th round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of UCLA. He spent most of last season with triple-A Sacramento, batting .261 (74-for-283) with 27 RBI in 82 contests. In four minor league seasons, he owns a career average of .244 (272-for-1114) with seven home runs.
Barney Nugent was a trainer for the San Francisco Giants from 1993 through 2003. Prior to his time as a Major League trainer, he spent 16 seasons working his way up through the minor leagues. Nugent earned a Master's Degree in Physical Education with an Athletic Training Specialization from Indiana State University. He passed away on February 22, 2014 after an arduous eight month battle with cancer and is survived by his wife of 33 years, Denise. Nugent is remembered as a good friend and was a Giant through the very end of his life.
The following players have won the Barney Nugent Award:
1988 Joe Kmak, Franscisco Melendez
1989 James Steel
1990 Eric Gunderson
1991 Mark Leonard
1992 John Patterson
1993 Greg Brummett
1994 J.R. Phillips
1995 Joe Rosselli
1996 Marvin Benard
1997 Dante Powell
1998 Russ Ortiz
1999 Damon Minor
2000 Ben Weber
2001 Pedro Feliz
2002 Felix Escalona
2003 Jason Ellison
2004 Brian Dallimore
2005 Scott Munter
2006 Derin McMains
2007 Tim Lincecum
2008 Brian Bocock
2009 Joe Martinez
2010 Darren Ford
2011 Brandon Belt
2012 Dan Otero
2013 Brock Bond
2014 Mark Minicozzi
2015 Matt Duffy
2016 Trevor Brown