The Willie Mac Award for 2018 is coming up. It is given annually to the most inspirational player on the team. While is it is definitely not an MVP award, it is generally given to a player who performed well. It goes beyond playing well, though and is generally a sign of perceived leadership and an ability to make others around the player better. It is voted on by players, coaches, training staff and in recent years by fans. Last year's winner was reserve catcher Nick Hundley. Since the first winner, Jack Clark, in 1980, there have been only 2 multi-year winners: Mike Krukow in 1985 and 1986 and Bengie Molina in 2007 and 2008.
I have 3 nominations for the 2018 award:
Alen Hanson- Hanson was signed as a minor league FA in the offseason and started the season in AAA. He as called up on April 28 when Joe Panik went down with a hand injury and stayed up for the remainder of the season. Although he played more 2B than any other position, he played every position except Pitcher, 1B and C. Hanson brought a clear extra dimension to the team with his speed and always seemed to be having fun out there. He was a fun guy to watch play on a team that wasn't that much fun to watch in general.
Derek Holland- Holland was also signed to a minor league contract in the offseason. He made the Opening Day starting rotation due to injuries to Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija. Though he mostly started, he also pitched out of the bullpen without complaint when the Giants projected SP's were briefly active. Not only did he do whatever was asked of him by the team and did it well, he also seemed to be a bit of a cutup in the clubhouse. At one point, he took that just a bit too far on an MLB TV show when he acted out an ill-considered impersonation of an Asian character. After taking well-deserved criticism, he issued what seemed to be a heartfelt apology. Holland also started the 60 feet 6 Foundation in 2014 to raise awareness and fund research for Leukemia, particularly the childhood form.
Dereck Rodriguez- Young Dereck or DRod is Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez' son. He also was signed to a minor league FA contract. He started his career in the Twins organization as an OF and only switched to pitching a couple of years ago. The Giants pursued him aggressively giving him a call within minutes of him officially becoming a minor league FA. He had some rough appearances in spring training and his first AAA start was also pretty bad, but then he put together a string of dominant starts for the Sacramento River Cats. He was called somewhere in the wave of injuries to hit the starting rotation and pitched well. His pedigree, long flowing hair and bulldog determination on the mound captured the fancy of many fans, including me!
I am torn between these 3 players as to who deserves the award most. There is precedence for more that one player to win as Mark Leiter and Mark Carreon were co-winners in 1995. Mark Gardner and Benito Santiago co-won in 2001, and Javier Lopez and Brandon Crawford shared it in 2016. Maybe we can have our first 3-way winners in 2018?
Who is your nominee for the Wllie Mac Award?
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Your nominations are well-considered. Of course, we can't know the dynamics within the clubhouse - which surely would be a huge factor in how the players and coaches vote.
ReplyDeleteBut as an outsider looking in, I'd say Derek Holland is a likely choice. Keeping the clubhouse relaxed seems to be valued pretty highly by the players, and he seems to fit the bill.
True, but the fans do get a vote, so we can consider who and what inspired us outside the clubhouse.
DeleteAs always, your analysis is not refutable, and all of those guys have put strong hearts into a low pulse team.
ReplyDeleteIt's symptomatic that 2 of your nominees are pitchers and the sole hitter isn't there for his hitting but for his enthusiastic approach to the game and the incredible energy he brings every day. Even his lapses are interesting and he has an incredible home plate slide.
Some credit could be given to the 'pen, they didn't have a lot of margin to work with and they didn't always succeed but Smith, Moronta, Watson, and Dyson were an inspirational core.
And, I admire Joe Panik. Despite his injuries, he'll still play in 100+ games and he finished well (18-59 .305 last 15 starts).
I suspect his low power numbers are injury related , as is, perhaps, the less than normal Joe Panik defense. He played gritty and often hurting.
He started strong -- who will ever forget his HRs in games 1 & 2 to beat LA -- but slowed after mid-April playing hurt until going on the DL the entire month of May, then falling to injury most of July. He kept coming back, giving all he had.
Ding, ding ding! You named the winner, Will Smith for his comeback from TJ surgery to become the Giants Closer.
DeleteHas Pence ever won the award? If not - I expect he gets the award as a parting gift from the Clubhouse.
ReplyDeleteYes, Hunter Pence is a former winner of the Willie Mac Award.
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