SF Giants infielder Wilmer Flores wins 2022 Willie Mac Award
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The SF Giants awarded veteran infielder Wilmer Flores with the 2022 Willie Mac Award in a ceremony prior to their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday. 14 previous winners were in attendance, including current players Brandon Crawford, LaMonte Wade Jr., Mike Yastrzemski, and Dbacks pitcher Madison Bumgarner.
The Willie Mac award is named after Giants legend Willie McCovey and is voted on by the team each year. The award was first given in 1980 and aims to celebrate the characteristics that a Giants player shared with McCovey. According to a team press release, "Competitive Spirit, Ability and Leadership” were engraved on the trophy to characterize the qualities exemplified by McCovey and Flores.
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"It's a true honor to receive the Willie Mac Award," Flores said in a short speech in front of the Oracle Park crowd after receiving the award. "I have the greatest teammates I could ever have. I appreciate the fans because you're always cheering. It doesn't matter if we're winning or losing, I always feel you behind us, and that means a lot. It makes me want to come back stronger next year."
The Giants caught Flores off guard during the ceremony, surprising him with his family in attendance. His father threw out the first pitch of the game to Wilmer.
This season, Flores has been one of the Giants most consistent position players and remained a bright spot even as the team fell out of playoff contention. He has appeared in 146 games, hitting .231/.317/.401 with 27 doubles and 19 home runs. Defensively, Flores has played all over the infield at first base, second base, and third base. He has already set single-season career-highs in games, plate appearances, at-bats, doubles, home runs, runs batted in, and walks.
Flores agreed to a two-year extension with the SF Giants to stay in San Francisco beyond this season a few weeks ago. He was set to become a free agent prior to the deal. He explained his decision to sign an extension with the team and compared young infielder Thairo Estrada to himself as a young player in an interview earlier this month.
Over his 10-year MLB career between the Mets, Diamondbacks, and Giants, Wilmer Flores has been a consistent contributor on both sides of the diamond. He has played in 1,010 games and has a .262/.314/.434 triple-slash with 126 home runs.
