THAIRO ESTRADA NAMED 2023 WILLIE MAC AWARD WINNER
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – San Francisco Giants infielder Thairo Estrada was selected as the winner of the 2023 Willie Mac Award, the club announced today.
The Willie McCovey Award is annually awarded to 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 43rd anniversary of the award, which was established in 1980, in honor of legend and Hall of Famer Willie McCovey. “Competitive Spirit, Ability and Leadership” are engraved on the plaque that now honors Estrada as well as McCovey.
Estrada, in his third season with the Giants, currently leads the team in hits (133), doubles (26), stolen bases (23) and is tied for the lead with 63 runs. He’s matched his personal-best with 14 home runs and his fWAR (4.1) is second to only right-handed pitcher Logan Webb (4.9). The 23 stolen bases are a career-high and are the most by a Giant since 2012.
Estrada has played the majority of his games this season at second base (99) but has also played 24 games at shortstop and three games in left field. His defensive play is worth +18 Outs Above Average (_Statcast_), third-best in all of MLB.
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 and Mark Carreon
1996 Shawon Dunston
1997 J.T. Snow
1998 Jeff Kent
1999 Marvin Benard
2000 Ellis Burks
2001 Mark Gardner and 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 and Javier Lopez
2017 Nick Hundley
2018 Will Smith
2019 Kevin Pillar
2020 Mike Yastrzemski
2021 LaMonte Wade Jr.
2022 Wilmer Flores
2023 Thairo Estrada