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