SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco Giants outfielder Kevin Pillar was selected as the winner of the 2019 "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 and the fans. This season marks the 39th anniversary of the award, which was established in 1980, in honor of legend and Hall of Famer Willie McCovey. Engraved on the plaque that Pillar will receive are the words “Competitive Spirit, Ability and Leadership” to characterize the qualities both McCovey and Pillar exemplify.

Pillar’s career with the Giants began shortly after the regular season started when he was acquired in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays in April. Since then, he’s played in 153 of the Giants’ 154 games and has had a career year, setting career-bests in home runs (21), extra-base hits (61), RBI (87) and runs scored (82). He leads the team in nearly every offensive category and is seeking to become the first player since 1920 to lead any MLB team in homers, RBI and stolen bases after playing for a different team at the start of the season.

A full list of the past Willie Mac Award winners is listed below.

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

2018                    Will Smith

2019                    Kevin Pillar