SAN FRANCISCO -- Willy Adames endured some ups and downs in his first season with the Giants, but the veteran shortstop never let his personal performance affect his comportment in the dugout.
Regardless of his own numbers, Adames remained a consistent source of energy and good vibes for his teammates, showing the type of leadership the Giants expected from him when they signed him to a seven-year, $182 million deal last December.
“What you see is what you get,” manager Bob Melvin said before the Giants’ 6-3 win over the Rockies on Friday night at Oracle Park. “He’s the same guy every day. He loves playing baseball. Even now, he doesn’t want days off. He wants to keep playing baseball. It’s enthusiasm, it’s support for his teammates, it’s energetic every day.”
Adames’ trademark zeal helped make him the winner of the 2025 Willie Mac Award, which is presented annually to the most inspirational player on the team, as voted upon by San Francisco players, coaches, training staff, clubhouse staff and fans.
“Obviously, getting that award is the biggest award you can win as a Giant,” Adames said. “For me to be right next to Willie Mac is just an honor. It’s truly special for me. Obviously, it’s voted on by my teammates, the coaches, the staff and the fans. For me, that’s what makes it even more special -- the respect of my teammates and the people around me. It’s obviously something that’s pretty surreal.”
Adames joined fellow infielders Matt Chapman (‘24) and Wilmer Flores ('22) as active members of the team who have received the Willie Mac Award, which was established in 1980 in honor of beloved Hall of Fame first baseman Willie McCovey. Adames’ parents, Rómulo and Ana Luna, were also on hand for the ceremony and each threw out a first pitch to their son.
Adames struggled to a .584 OPS with five home runs over his first 65 games with the Giants, prompting Melvin to give him a much-needed day off on June 8. The mental break seemed to revitalize Adames, who came back to log an .840 OPS with 23 homers over his next 92 games.
Despite the challenging start to the season, Adames now leads the Giants in most offensive categories, including home runs. He fittingly kicked off Friday’s game with another big blast, mashing a two-run shot off Rockies right-hander Germán Márquez to open the scoring in the bottom of the first inning.
“It felt like something that was meant to happen, I guess,” Adames said. “I didn’t go up there trying to hit a homer. It’s just something that happened. Obviously, I’m going to enjoy it. It was great.”
With his team-high 29th home run of the year, Adames is now one shy of becoming the first Giant to hit 30 since Barry Bonds in 2004.
“Obviously, it’s a big deal, but for me, I’m just trying to win, man,” Adames said. “I don’t really care about hitting 30. Obviously, I want to do it. But if I don’t do it this year, I’ll do it next year. Rafi [Devers] is going to do it, for sure, and Chappy, if they stay healthy. For me, it’s all about winning. It’s not my main focus, you know?”
“Now you look up and you see the numbers, too,” Melvin said. “The numbers are there after getting a slow start, which can be difficult in a new place, too. I’m very impressed with Willy Adames.”
Heliot Ramos also crushed a three-run blast to help back rookie right-hander Trevor McDonald, who struck out 10 and gave up three runs over seven innings to earn his first career win in the Majors. McDonald leaned heavily on his curveball to record his first career double-digit strikeout game, throwing the breaking ball 58% of the time and inducing 15 of his 18 swinging strikes with the pitch.
“It was a lot of fun,” McDonald said. “We’re trying to finish strong and win games. It definitely gave me some confidence going into the offseason and coming back for next year.”
The Giants (79-81) will be able to finish at .500 if they win their final two regular-season games against the Rockies, but it’s far from a satisfying result for Adames, who knows the club has plenty of work ahead after missing the playoffs for the eighth time in the last nine years.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of room to improve for next year,” Adames said. “For me, personally, I feel like it hasn’t been my best year. There’s a lot of stuff that I need to work on for next year to try to be more consistent. Obviously, like I said, the main focus is winning. For me, it’s just coming next year with the right mentality to go out there and compete [from] Day One and carrying that energy until the last game of the season. I feel like we kind of lost that, and it was tough.”