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 36^th 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