Brandon Crawford & Javier Lopez named 2016 'Willie Mac' Award winners
San Francisco Giants infielder Brandon Crawford and left-handed reliever Javier Lopez were selected as the winners of the 2016 "Willie Mac" Award, the club announced today. It's just the third time since the award has been given out that the team has had co-winners (also in 1995 and 2001).
San Francisco, Calif. - San Francisco Giants infielder Brandon Crawford and left-handed reliever Javier Lopez were selected as the winners of the 2016 "Willie Mac" Award, the club announced today. It's just the third time since the award has been given out that the team has had co-winners (also in 1995 and 2001).
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 36th anniversary of the award, which was established in 1980, in honor of legend and Hall of Famer Willie McCovey. Engraved on the plaque that both Crawford and Lopez will receive are the words "Competitive Spirit, Ability and Leadership" to characterize the qualities both McCovey, Crawford and Lopez exemplify.
In his sixth Major League season, Crawford is hitting a career-high .272 (147-for-541) with 28 doubles and 12 home runs in 152 games. He leads the club with 82 RBI and his 11 triples this season are tied for the most in the bigs. The captain of the infield, Crawford's 17 runs saved rank as the second-most among National League shortstops and his .982 fielding percentage ranks as the fourth-highest.
Lopez, in his seventh season with the Giants, has posted a 1-3 mark with a 4.05 ERA (12er, 26.2ip) and has held left-handed batters to a .211 clip (16-for-76). His 53 inherited runners are tied for the fourth-most in the Majors and his 11.3 percent of inherited runners scored ranks as the fourth-lowest in the big leagues. Since joining the Giants in 2010, he has held left-handed batters to a .166 average and has surrendered just four home runs.
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